Are there away goals in the Europa League? Rules explained before Tottenham vs Frankfurt

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Tottenham take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the first-leg of their Europa League quarter-final clash on Thursday night with Ange Postecoglou's men looking to keep their season alive.

After finishing fifth in the Premier League last term, Spurs have endured a disaster campaign this term. The north Londoners have won just 11 league games and lost 16 to leave them in 14th.

Fortunately, they have remained competitive in Europe and are just five games away from ending their trophy drought in Bilbao. On the flip side, they go into their last eight meeting with Frankfurt as the underdogs.

Dino Toppmoller's side are third in the Bundesliga table and despite losing Omar Marmoush in January to Manchester City, remain a serious threat. Tonight's clash is one of the biggest in Postecoglou's era at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the next week huge in his future.

With that in mind, football.london takes a look at what the rules are on away goals in the Europa League...

Is there away goals in the Europa League?

No, away goals are no longer a regulation in the Europa League. The away goals rule in UEFA club competitions was outlawed in June 2021 following the recommendation of the UEFA Club Competitions Committee and the UEFA Women's Football Committee.

What was the away goals rule?

When applied, this rule was used to split two teams who were tied on aggregate after the culmination of two legs.

The team to progress to the next round would be the one who scored the most goals away from home. This coined the phrase of away goals 'counting as double' due to the significance of scoring at the opposition's stadium.

For example, if tonight's game ended 2-2, Frankfurt would have a significant advantage in the second-leg. It would mean that Spurs would have to win or draw 2-2, at the very least, to take it to extra-time.

Now, that is no longer the case and it is just a matter of the outcome of the aggregate score. If that score is level across 180 minutes, extra-time and possibly penalties will decide the winner of the tie.