FROM TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM – Tottenham opened their UEFA Europa League campaign with a manic 3-0 win against Azerbaijani side Qarabag.
Kick-off in north London was delayed by 35 minutes due to severe travel disruption around the city, which meant Qarabag didn’t arrive until just before the initial slated time of 20:00.
Spurs played nearly the entire match with ten men after an early red card, but Ange Postecoglou’s side were impressive regardless.
How the game unfolded
Within seven minutes of kick-off, Tottenham found themselves a man down. A loose touch from Radu Dragusin saw Juninho pinch the ball and race through to goal, only for the Romanian defender to trip him as the last man, and he was sent off for the foul.
But the hosts broke the deadlock soon after. Dominic Solanke stole the ball off of Julio Ramao, and he played in Brennan Johnson to fire past goalkeeper Mateusz Kochalski.
Another chance for Johnson came and went when he raced onto a long pass from Archie Gray and rounded Kochalski, but his effort from a tight angle bobbled wide.
Qarabag should have been level just before the break. Elvin Jafarquliyev scampered to the byline and pulled back a cross into the six-yard box, where Juninho turned it past the post.
Shortly after the interval, Tottenham doubled their lead. A corner from Dejan Kulusevski was flapped at by Kochalski, and Pape Matar Sarr was on hand at the back post to convert the loose ball.
Minutes later, Qarabag were awarded a penalty when Yves Bissouma brought down Jafarquliyev. However, Tural Bayramov skied the spot kick.
Almost immediately down the other end, Son Heung-min teed up Solanke, but he was denied by the feet of Kochalski.
Qarabag were attacking with more intensity and rattled the post through Juninho after he beat the last line of the Spurs defence.
The visitors were left pretty vulnerable at the back themselves and were made to pay as Tottenham added a third. Son’s shot from distance was spilled by Kochalski and into the path of Solanke, who tapped the ball into an empty goal.
Qarabag finally had the ball in the net after 78 minutes through Juninho, but the flag quickly went up for offside and his joy was short-lived.
Tottenham’s triumph was confirmed after three minutes of added time as they extended their record to three-straight wins in all competitions.
Tottenham player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Guglielmo Vicario – 7/10 – Made some really impressive saves to ensure Tottenham remained in the ascendancy and never were dragged into a lull despite the red card.
RB: Archie Gray – 7/10 – A fine European debut for the teenager, who linked up well with both Johnson and Kulusevski down the right flank. Meaningful minutes in the Premier League shouldn’t be too far away.
CB: Radu Dragusin – 1/10 – Is it possible to give a minus rating? The Romanian’s woeful touch and foul ensured his side had to play 83 minutes with only ten players. Absolutely dreadful.
CB: Micky van de Ven – 6/10 – Understandably wasn’t too sure of his footing when switched to the right side of defence, but often made amends with his otherworldly recovery pace.
LB: Ben Davies – 6/10 – Was never short of confidence in possession, even when shifted to centre-back and even when he lost the ball similarly to Dragusin just before half time.
DM: Yves Bissouma – 4/10 – Had an almighty task trying to tie a two-man midfield together, but too often he made a rod for his own back. Lunged in rather daftly to concede the penalty and was really lucky it was blazed over.
CM: Pape Matar Sarr – 8/10 – The engine in midfield was a bit busier than he had probably expected to be, covering more distance after Dragusin’s dismissal and the subsequent tactical switch to a two-man midfield. Grabbed his first goal of the season for his efforts.
CM: Lucas Bergvall – 6/10 – Withdrawn soon after Dragusin’s red card in favour of another defender in Udogie. Understandably frustrated as he made his way off so early into his first home start and looked dejected on the bench thereafter.
RW: Brennan Johnson – 8/10 – Took the game’s first chance extremely well, passing the ball into the bottom corner to record his third goal in as many matches. Taken off at half-time.
CF: Dominic Solanke – 9/10 – An all-round performance from Tottenham’s new striker. Made another goal out of his pressing early doors for Johnson before reacting quickest to a loose ball to convert himself in the second half. Put in a hell of a shift off the ball.
LW: Son Heung-min – 6/10 – This wasn’t the cleanest performance from Spurs’ captain, though his pace gave Qarabag serious problems in transition and it was his shot which led to Solanke’s goal.
Substitutes
SUB: Destiny Udogie (12′ for Bergvall) – 6/10 – Tottenham needed his energy to make up for the one-man advantage Qarabag had. His end product was lacking, however.
SUB: Dejan Kulusevski (46′ for Johnson) – 6/10 – Likewise brought fresh legs to a team that required them to plug gaps.
SUB: Timo Werner (70′ for Son) – 6/10
SUB: Rodrigo Bentancur (70′ for Bissouma) – 6/10
SUB: Mikey Moore (85′ for Solanke) – N/A
Subs not used: Fraser Forster (GK), Brandon Austin (GK), Pedro Porro, James Maddison, Will Lankshear
Ange Postecoglou – 8/10 – Tottenham played superbly given the circumstances, even if that meant giving up a bit more space for the opponent to try and take advantage of.
