More good news for Tottenham Hotspur
There’s been a late goal at the Stade Louis II stadium, where Monaco have equalised against Bayer Leverkusen. That leaves Spurs sitting pretty on top of the group.
Updated
Full-time: CSKA Moscow 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur
90+2 min: It’s all over and Spurs have won. They take the three points despite having travelled to Moscow without five of their best players. Heung-Min Song scored his fifth in four games to win the game for the visitors. It won’t live too long in the memory, but Spurs won’t care about that. In Monaco, Bayer Leverkusen continue to lead.
Updated
90+1 min: Now Son appeals for a corner, but doesn’t get one when it looks like the call possibly should have gone his way.
90 min: CSKA Moscow are awarded a corner they shouldn’t have been given, after the ball went out off one of their players. The ball’s played into the mixer, where Hugo Lloris claims it without fuss.
Updated
89 min: I like the cut of this Nkoudou fellow’s jib - he’s been a real livewire since replacing Vincent Janssen. He picks up the ball, jinks down the left touchline, cuts inside and plays the ball to his fellow substitute Winks.
Updated
86 min: Spurs continue to play keep-ball, leaving their opponents rather halfheartedly chasing shadows. They should close this out for the win, barring a major gaffe or piece of skill from one of the CSKA players.
85 min: Good play down the right flank by Mario Hernandes, who gives the ball and goes, picks up the return pass and gets in behind Ben Davies. He plays the ball diagonally across the face of goal - is it a shot or a cross to Lacina Traore? - but it fizzes wide of the far post.
84 min: Spurs hog the ball, switching play from side to side under little or no pressure from their hosts as they count down the clock.
82 min: Spurs substitution: Dele Alli off, Harry Winks on. Harry who? He’s a 20-year-old midfielder from the Spurs academy who was 14 when last they played in the Champions League. He’s had a few run-outs for Spurs in the past few seasons, but this is his first taste of Champions League football.
80 min: Igor Akinfeev’s run of European games without a clean sheet is now 39. That’s extraordinary - to be in a team good enough to qualify for Europe that often, while remaining defensively poor enough to keep so few clean sheets must take some doing.
79 min: Javier Hernandez has put Bayer Leverkusen a goal up against Monaco in the other game being played in this group tonight.
78 min: Nkoudou, who has been excellent since coming on, dives in to dispossess Mario Fernandes with an excellent tackle in the Spurs penalty area. The crowd appeal for a penalty, but none is forthcoming. Great defending by the non-defender.
75 min: CSKA substitution: Isrtaeli international Bibras Natcho replaces Zoran Tosic, who looked dangerous in the first half, but has been quiet since the interval.
73 min: A Son shot in the CSKA penalty area is blocked by Schennikov and the ball breaks for Alli. He attempts to head goalwards only to see his effort blocked on the edge of the six-yard box. With their defence in a massive dither, CSKA hack clear.
GOAL! CSKA Moscow 0-1 Spurs (Son 71)
GOAL! Son scores his fifth goal in four games for Spurs, latching on to a perfectly weighted pass between defenders and shooting under Akinfeev. The goalkeeper got plenty of hand on that shot, but couldn’t prevent the ball from trickling over the line. Spurs lead in Moscow!
Updated
70 min: Dele ALli picks out a run behind the CSKA defence by Erik Lamela, but again there’s a mite too much weight on the pass, which runs straight through to Akinfeev.
69 min: Nkoudou wins a corner straight after coming on and from the ensuing set piece, Erik Lamela has a pop from distance that takes a deflection that results in the ball trundling inches wide of the upright with Akinfeev hopelessly wrong-footed. Another corner for Spurs, but nothing comes of it.
67 min: Spurs substitution: Georges-Kevin Nkoudou on for Vincent Janssen, who’s had a busy but ultimately frustrating evening. He’s a very selfless player whose effort can’t be faulted, but he looks low on confidence in front of goal, snatching at chances and repeatedly getting caught offside.
66 min: Spurs win another corner and this time it’s an outswinger from the left by Son. The ball carries through to Dele Alli, but CSKA win possession and clear.
65 min: Son has a shot from distance blocked by Pontus Werbloom, who dives in to avert the danger.
61 min: Vincent Janssen gets tripped in the CSKA penalty area while attempting to make room for a shot after picking up a cross from Kieran Trippier. The referee has a good, long look before waving play on. I think he got that one wrong.
Updated
60 min: Elsewhere in this group, it’s still scoreless between Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen. Finnish reader Kári Tulinius has been watching the action: “The Finnish equivalent to the BBC decided to show that game,” he says. “I can’t share any nuggets of wisdom from the commentators, one of whom is Jari Litmanen, since my rudimentary Finnish doesn’t allow me to understand anything more complicated than so-and-so gets a yellow or that guy sent in a cross. But my own eyes tell me that it’s been a game played at pace with no clear cut chances. You get a feeling that one good chance is all either team needs, and it might settle the game. Meanwhile, the Stade Louis II is half-full at best. You’d think that they could get some late-season holiday goers interested in a Champions League game, but no.”
Updated
58 min: From about eight yards out at the near post, Vincent Janssen attempts to side-foot home a ball squared across the face of goal by Ben Davies, but sends his effort across the face of goal and wide of the upright. Close, but no cigar.
57 min: Vincent Janssen picks out a Dele Alli run into space, but running down a blind alley through the left of the CSKA penalty area, the Spurs midfielder is left with little option but to whack the ball off Ignasievich’s arm and appeal for a penalty. He’s forced to settle for a corner, from which nothing comes.
56 min: Georgi Schennikov hacks clear for CSKA Moscow with Spurs looking increasingly dangerous.
55 min: Son’s in the thick of the action again, curling a decent effort just wide of the far post. Intriguing stuff at the Stadion CSKA< where a scoreless stalemate is looking increasingly unlikely.
51 min: Ben Davies gets a crucial block as Zoran Tosic is teed up from the left and shoots from just inside the Spurs penalty area. The deflection takes the ball over the bar for a CSKA corner, from which nothing comes. Moments previously, Son had got in behind the CSKA defence, but allowed Schennikov to get goalside of the in-form Spurs man to prevent him from shooting.
50 min: Son and Lamela have swapped wings since the interval, with Son now operating on the right and Lamela on the left.
48 min: On another foray deep into CSKA territory, Kieran Trippier sends a cross/shot wide of the far upright when three of his team-mates were in good positions waiting for a cross. When Burnley came up from the Championship three seasons ago, Trippier was their main assist-merchant from the right-back position. As I recall, he provided 15 or 16 assists from the right flank.
47 min: Another poor final ball from Spurs, with vincent Janssen failing to put Erik Lamela in behind the CSKA defence with a wayward pass that earns him a somewhat undeserved thumbs-up. The intention was noble, I suppose, even if the execution was poor.
CSKA Moscow 0-0 Tottenham - second half is go ...
46 min: Play resumes with CSKA having made a barely discernible change: Aleksei Berezutski is on for his identical twin brother Vasili, who came into this match suffering from a back injury. Substitutions don’t get much more like for like.
Interesting stat: CSKA Moscow goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev has not kept a clean sheet in his last 38 games in European competition. That’s fairly remarkable. If Spurs can find that elusive killer pass, it’s an unenviable run he’ll struggle to end tonight.
Elsewhere in this group ...
It’s scoreless between Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen in what sounds like another thriller.
Half-time: CSKA Moscow 0-0 Tottenham
45 min: It’s scoreless at half-time, after a first half severely depleted Spurs have dominated, but without being rampant. They’ve played well enough against a CSKA side that are content to sit back and let them have possession, but their final ball has been less than incisive and a long-range Dele Alli shot from distance that thumped the cross-bar was their best chance of scoring.
44 min: Some more neat play around the fringes of the CSKA penalty area, this time involving Eriksen, Son and Ben Davies. Again the final ball is found wanting, with Davies supplying the excessively leaden touch that enables CSKA to clear on this occasion.
43 min: Dele Alli is keeping busy. This time he rises to meet a Christian Eriksen cross, but heads the ball over.
41 min: Ben Davies attempts to play a cross from the left into the CSKA penalty area, but his effort goes through the legs of centre-half Sergei Ignashevich and into the arms of Akinfeev.
Updated
39 min: Ben Davies and Son combine down the left for Spurs, before the ball is played inside to Alderweireld, who switches play to the right. Kieran Trippier is up from right-back and is on hand to tee up Alderweireld moments later, for a shot on goal that sails straight into the grasp of Akinfeev.
38 min: Tottenham win a corner, which Son takes from the right. His inswinger is punched clear by Akinfeev in the CSKA goal.
37 min: A period of sustained pressure on the Spurs goal ends when Roman Eremenko is booked for a desperate lunge on Dele Alli as Spurs embarked on a counter-attack.
35 min: Janssen latches on to a through ball gets the ball in the net with a nice chip over Akinfeev, but is again penalised for offside.
Updated
34 min: Oof! Dele Alli rattles the cross-bar with a wonderful right-footed shot from just outside the CSKA penalty area. He demonstrated some nifty footwork to move the ball from his left foot on to his right before pulling the trigger.
32 min: Roman Aramenko gallops down the left touchline in pursuit of a pass and keeps the ball in play with an audacious piece of skill. He turns Kieran Trippier inside-out, cuts inside and shoots in an attempt to beat Hugo Lloris at his near post. The goalkeeper saves comfortably.
31 min: A poor defensive header from Jan Vertonghen results in the ball dropping kindley for Zoran Tosic in acres of space on the edge of the Spurs penalty area. With all the time in the world to steady himself and shoot, he proceeds to blast a great chance high over the bar.
29 min: Dele Alli makes a splendid run into the CSKA penalty area that is picked out by a wonderful Eriksen pass from deep. Weirdly, Alli’s first touch completely deserts him and he allows he ball to run past him without making contact with it.
28 min: Trippier hoofs the ball clear after a brief game of pinball in the Tottenham penalty area after Lloris had flapped hopelessly at a Tosic free-kick.
27 min: Erik Lamela attempts to play the ball over the CSKA defence for Son to chase, but the South Korean doesn’t have the legs to beat Mario Fernandes to the ball. The pass was a mite overcooked.
26 min: Christian Eriksen shoots high over the CSKA Moscow goal from distance.
23 min: Stat attack: Passes: CSKA Moscow 64-176 Tottenham. Possession: CSKA MMOscow 32%-68% Tottenham.
21 min: This time it’s Heung-Min Son and/or Dele Alli to be penalised for offside as they’re flagged running back from offside positions as Vincent Janssen attempts to play the ball in behind the CSKA defence. Good play from Spurs, but they’re lacking that killer final ball in the final third ... and the ability to remain onside.
19 min: Lamela gets penalised for a foul on Pontus Wernbloom on the fringe of the CSKA penalty area. That looked a harsh call from the referee; Wernbloom just fell over.
16 min: Lacine Traore capitalises on a mistake by Dele Alli, halfway inside the Spurs half and bears down on the penalty area. Toby Alderweireld does well to ensure Traore can’t get a clear run on goal and hooks the ball out of play for a throw-in. Good defending after a sloppy error by Alli, who was caught dawdling on the ball in a dangerous position.
13 min: CSKA attack down the right courtesy of a quick injection of pace, but Ben Davies is quick to react and clear up at the back for Spurs. A deft back-heel from Dele Alli plays Vincent Janssen in behind the CSKA back four and he crosses for Erik Lamella. Offside! Janssen is flagged as soon as he crosses the ball. He’s a mite over-eager early doors.
11 min: Victor Wanyama gets booked for diving into a challenge on Aleksandr Golovin after a heavy touch gifted possession to the CSKA midfielder.
10 min: Vincent Janssen strays offside while shaping to get on the end of a cross from Kieran Trippier.
Updated
8 min: Another CSKA chance goes a begging, but ends in a corner for the Russian side. Spurs clear. Another attack down the flank from Fernandes, the right-back who is looking lively for CSKA.
6 min: A cross from Aleksandr Golovin is met by Mario Fernandes, who attempts to head across the face of goal for Lacina Traore. He should have headed goalwards himself.
3 min: Spurs are dominating possession in the very early stages, as the game settles into something approaching a rhythm. They attack down the right, with Christian Eriksen, Victor Wanyama, Dele Alli, Vincent Janssen and Kieran Trippier all getting touches as they ping the ball around.
Updated
CSKA Moscow v Tottenham Hotspur is go ...
1 min: Spurs kick off and after all today’s off-field shenanigans, it’s time to concentrate on some football. As is customary, CSKA manager is rocking back and forth on his seat on the bench, looking anything but calm. It’s a peculiar foible of his.
The goalkeepers convene for the coin-toss ...
You don’t see that too often - a game in which both goalkeepers are skippering their sides. Tottenham’s players wear white shirts, white socks and white socks tonight. Their hosts are in blue and red striped shirts, blue shorts and blue socks.
Not long now ...
The players emerge from their dressing rooms and head for the steps that lead to the spanking new pitch. Kick off is just a few minutes away.
So, back to the business in hand ...
CSKA Moscow began their Champions League campaign with a 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen, coming back from two goals down after Admir Mehmedi and Hakan Calhanoglu had given the Bundesliga side a two goal lead after 15 minutes. Alan Dzagoev, who is out tonight with a hamstring injury, scored a marvellous goal for the Russian side, before Roman Eremenko qualised before half-time. That’s how it remained after 90 minutes.
Allardyce gone, expect Gareth Southgate to take over as caretaker in the short term.
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) September 27, 2016
BT Sport's coverage of this match ...
Fittingly, for the day that’s in it, Glenn Hoddle and Harry Redknapp are on their panel of pundits. One is a former England manager forced to resign because of ill-advised comments about the disabled, while the other missed out on the job for reasons that may have been connected to charges of tax evasion he faced, only to be cleared of them all. Neither mention their own experiences during a very short discussion about Allardyce in which nobody criticises the England manager’s behaviour.
CSKA Moscow v Tottenham Hotspur line-ups
CSKA Moscow: Akinfeev, Fernandes, Wernbloom, Ignashevich, Tosic, Milanov, Traore, Golovin, Vasili Berezutski, Eremenko, Schennikov.
Subs: Chepchugov, Alexsei Berezutski, Nababkin, Strandberg, Bebras Natcho, Gordyushenko.
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Son, Janssen, Lamela, Wanyama, Trippier, Alli, Eriksen, Davies.
Subs: Vorm, Walker, Nkoudou, Onomah, Wimmer, Winks, Carter-Vickers.
Referee: Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz (Spain)
I suspect, when confirmation drops tonight that Sam Allardyce has left his position with England, it will be classed as "mutual agreement"
— Dominic Fifield (@domfifield) September 27, 2016
Meanwhile in FA HQ ...
The word doing the rounds is that England’s manager has offered his resignation to the Football Association in the wake of that Telegraph sting and it will almost certainly be accepted. The issue is expected to be resolved tonight. You can catch up on the day’s evens as they unravelled here ...
#THFC team: Lloris (C); Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies; Wanyama, Dele; Lamela, Eriksen, Son; Janssen. #COYS pic.twitter.com/WHPrr8UISM
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 27, 2016
Mauricio Pochettino speaks ...
“[Eric] Dier and [Mousa] Dembele are recovering from minor problems,” said the Tottenham manager upon being asked the age-old questions regarding whether or not his team has any knocks. “They are progressing but we prefer not to take a risk. We still have many important matches in the future. When you play in such an important tournament like the Champions League, it is very important to have many quality players and also to be competitive on all fronts.”
On his side’s reverse at the hands of Monaco: “We were disappointed after the Monaco game and we need to improve,” he said. “We must win tomorrow. I do not think that it was inexperience that was the reason for the defeat against Monaco. We did not play very well, while Monaco created two opportunities and scored them both. We need to go out onto the field, play well and win.”
Leonid Slutsky speaks ...
The CSKA Moscow coach, who famously fell out of a tree while attempting to rescue a cat when he was 19, ending a promising career as a goalkeeper in the process, is likely to be without his star player Alan Dzagoev tonight, but may welcome back his veteran defender Vasili Berezutski, who was replaced by his twin brother last weekend after complaining of a back injury.
Speaking about tonight’s opposition, who are visiting Moscow for the very first time, he had this to say: “The question is not how are we going to defend against them at set pieces, but how we are going defend against their attacking potential overall?” he said. “Last year Spurs had an amazing team and tried to win the title. This season they play a little different because many teams sit back against them.”
Greetings one and all ...
Having come a cropper against Monaco in their borrowed Champions League digs at Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur travel to an even more modern stadium for round two of the campaign. With its skyscraper built in the shape of the Uefa Cup/Europa League trophy in one corner, the Arena CSKA opened for business less than a fortnight ago and tonight’s match is just the third it has hosted. Kick-off is at 7.45pm BST, but we’ll be here with team news and build-up an hour before that.
Updated
