Tottenham Hotspur‘s brilliant second-half display secured their spot for the knock-out stage on the final day of the UEFA Champions League group stage action. Two unlikely scorers of Tottenham, Clement Lenglet and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg‘s goals saved them from a defeat in France.
The north London Club needed to avoid a defeat against Marseille to make it into the last 16. Antonio Conte was also watching the game from the stands after seeing a red card last week. But the manager’s absence didn’t matter that much. Tottenham saved their European campaign after improving in the second half.
Tottenham Hotspur was struggling in the first 45 minutes after having no effort on goal. But the second half changed the dynamic of the game.
But Conte will have a massive headache, as he lost one of his star men, Son Heung-min to a head injury. As many of his attacking players are missing games due to injury.
Match Day Activity of Tottenham Hotspur
Conte used his traditional 3-4-3 formation with Kane up front with Lucas and Son on the flanks. But sadly, Son was forced to leave the field early after suffering a head injury.
On the opposite, Marseille coach Igor Tudor used the same formation as Tottenham. Alexis Sanchez was leading the attack against his former rival with Guendozi and Harit on the flanks.
In the first half, Sanchez missed a golden opportunity to head the ball into the net after a brilliant lob pass from Harit. Just before the half time, Marseille’s surprise corner taken by Veretout was headed by Mbemba which stunned the Spurs team. Tottenham was not creative enough in the first half to create any significant chances.
In the second half, Perisic took a freekick earned by Harry Kane. This time, Lenglet’s header equalised the scoreline for Tottenham Hotspur. In the 87th minute of the game, Kolasinac did miss a golden chance to give his team a lead. But soon in the extra time, Tottenham punished Marseille to complete their comeback. Hojbjerg scored a stunning goal from Kane’s pass in the few seconds before the final whistle.
Lloris and Lenglet at Post-Match Interview
During the post-match interview, Hugo Lloris spoke to BT Sport. He praised his compatriot Clement Lenglet. He spoke: “Clement [Lenglet] scored a very important goal in France, in front of the French people.” The captain also added: “We speak in the locker room – we start the second half with much more personality and aggressive. We play a very good second half. It was a tough night and a great battle.”
This was Clement Lenglet’s best performance in the Tottenham shirt, as he won the Man of the Match award. About his goal, he spoke: “I am happy to score here, more for the team and we needed one point and it’s very important to win this type of game. I’m happy because it’s an important goal for the team.”
With all these injuries, Tottenham Hotspur will meet against struggling Liverpool on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur stadium. The game will be very important for both sides for their progress in the League table.
