Tottenham’s Champions League campaign got off to a difficult start as they threw away a two-goal lead against Greek side Olympiakos.
Last season’s beaten finalists led 2-0 up at the half-hour-mark thanks to a Harry Kane penalty and Lucas Moura’s superb strike, but goals either side of the interval from Daniel Podence and Mathieu Valbuena earned the hosts a 2-2 draw and a deserved share of the points.
Mauricio Pochettino made five changes to the side that hammered Crystal Palace 4-0 on Saturday, with Dele Alli brought into the midfield for his first start of the season and Davinson Sanchez asked to fill in at right back.
Whether the sweeping changes or the hostile atmosphere were to blame, Spurs got off to a tepid start, and Miguel Angel Guerrero almost opened the scoring for the hosts, striking the post after being beautifully teed up by Podence.
Out of nothing though, Spurs were given the chance to take the lead when Yassine Meriah foolishly decide to have a second nibble at Kane as he chopped into the box, bringing down the England striker for a clear penalty.
Kane’s apparent cloak of penalty invincibility had slipped slightly with his miss against Kosovo on international duty last week, but normal service was resumed here as he clipped home.
Minutes later, the lead was doubled as Ben Davies pinched possession high up the pitch and found Lucas to rifle home a terrific effort from 20 yards.
On the stroke of half-time, the Greeks has the goal they deserved as the lively Podence linked up sweetly with Valbuena before firing across Hugo Lloris and into the far corner.
Alli had a close-range finish correctly ruled out for offside shortly after the restart as Spurs briefly looked to have regained some sort of control.
It was not to last, however, and 54 minutes the hosts had their leveller when Spurs failed to clear their lines and Jan Vertoghnen felled Valbuena just inside the penalty area. Valbuena himself stepped up to send his former international teammate Lloris the wrong way from 12 yards to restore parity and send an already raucous home crowd into overdrive.
Pochettino showed no signs of settling for the point, sending on Son-Heung Min and Erik Lamela, but Spurs were unable to find the goal that would have sent them into next month’s clash with Bayern Munich with three points on the board.
Relive the Champions League action in Pireas!
Can't see the blog? Click here for the desktop version.
Olympiakos: Jose Sa, Elabdellaoui, Semedo, Meriah, Tsimikas, Guilherme, Bouchalakis, Daniel Podence, Valbuena, Giorgos Masouras, Guerrero
Subs: Camara, Benzia, El Arabi, Allain, Papadopoulos, Torosidis, Randjelovic
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies, Ndombele, Winks, Eriksen, Alli, Lucas Moura, Kane
Subs: Son, Lamela, Wanyama, Dier, Walker-Peters, Sissoko, Gazzaniga
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)
