Dramatic last kick win flips Champions League

2 years ago 102

Tottenham precocious successful the Champions League the hard mode connected Wednesday (AEDT).

With manager Antonio Conte serving a suspension successful the stands and 1 of its prima players, Son Heung-min, forced disconnected the tract with a caput injury, Tottenham was trailing 1-0 astatine halftime against Marseille and heading retired of the competition.

So atrocious was the performance, Spurs didn’t person a interaction successful Marseille’s punishment country successful the archetypal half.

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They managed to crook it around.

Pierre-Emile Højbjerg scored with the past footwear of the crippled astatine Stade Velodrome for a extremity that sealed a 2-1 triumph and lifted Tottenham to the apical of Group D supra Eintracht Frankfurt, which had already clinched triumph astatine Sporting — besides 2-1 — and was sitting successful archetypal spot until Højbjerg's goal.

That extremity besides meant Marseille finished successful past spot and volition person nary engagement successful European contention successful the caller year.

“We could consciousness successful the archetypal fractional a squad was playing without the fearfulness to suffer — it was Marseille,” Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris said. “And successful the 2nd half, we had a squad that was fearing to suffer — and it was us.”

Champions League highlights: Sporting vs Eintracht Frankfurt

Marseille had to triumph to beforehand to the knockout signifier for the archetypal clip since the 2011-12 play and dominated the archetypal half, penning the visitors successful their ain fractional and yet taking the pb successful stoppage clip erstwhile Chancel Mbemba headed successful unmarked astatine the acold station aft a rapidly taken corner.

Tottenham's players hardly strung immoderate passes unneurotic successful the archetypal fractional — defender Clement Lenglet aboriginal acknowledged helium and his teammates were confused astir however to attack the crippled — and received a stroke erstwhile a dazed-looking Son was helped disconnected the tract aft receiving a enarthrosis to his look by Mbemba. The forward, who is acceptable to play astatine the World Cup for South Korea, appeared to beryllium unsteady connected his feet.

Starting the 2nd fractional with a intent — needing to people — helped Tottenham, which rapidly gained a foothold and Lenglet headed location a 54th-minute equalizer by glancing successful Ivan Perisic’s left-wing escaped kick. The unit was backmost connected Marseille.

In a nervy last 15 minutes, Højbjerg struck the crossbar for Tottenham before, astatine the different end, Alexis Sanchez’s goalbound changeable was deflected wide disconnected the assemblage of Perisic.

Marseille’s squad contained 4 players who person played for Tottenham’s fierce rival, Arsenal, and 1 them — Sead Kolasinac — entered arsenic a substitute and had a aureate accidental successful the 87th infinitesimal to enactment the hosts ahead. Found by a transverse to the acold post, Kolasinac headed wide from hardly 2 metres out.

Marseille's players poured guardant successful hunt of a winner, overmuch to the annoyance of its animated coach, Igor Tudor. He ended up straying onto the tract of play successful a bid to get crossed a connection that a gully — which would person secured 3rd spot and a spot successful the Europa League's qualifying playoffs — would really person been fine.

“The players couldn’t perceive it due to the fact that it was truthful loud," Tudor said. “There was disorder astatine the end. Unfortunately, it outgo us.”

Indeed, Tudor was connected the playing aboveground arsenic Tottenham broke guardant successful the 5th infinitesimal of stoppage time, with Harry Kane playing done Højbjerg to clang a changeable successful disconnected the post.

Conte watched the crippled successful the stands arsenic a effect of his reddish paper successful past week's gully against Sporting. He was mostly unmoved until the precocious goal, which brought retired a chaotic solemnisation by Conte.

When Tottenham got to the Champions League last successful 2019, the squad lone made it retired of the radical signifier acknowledgment to a precocious equalizer by Lucas Moura against Barcelona astatine the Camp Nou successful the last circular of games.

Spurs person been making dilatory starts to matches successful this year's radical stage, too. Still, they are through, completing a cleanable expanse of English teams successful the past 16.

“It was precise hard successful the archetypal half," said Tottenham adjunct manager Cristian Stellini, filling successful for Conte connected the touchline. “And successful the difficulties we didn’t suffer our minds, we stayed successful the match.”

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