Right, that’s it from me. Head over here to follow Liverpool v Bordeaux. And stick around on site for all the Europa League reports and reaction. But from me, cheerio!
So Spurs maintain their momentum ahead of the Chelsea game at the weekend and they can effectively have a week off when Monaco visit the Lane in a couple of weeks.
Peep! PEEP!! PEEEEEEP!!! Spurs knock the ball about between themselves for a couple of minutes and the referee finally puts Qarabag out of their misery. The Azeri side are still in contention, but Spurs are definitely through.
90+1 min: Three minutes of added time to play.
90 min: A final Spurs change: Eriksen off, Onomah on.
89 min: Spurs look more likely to add to the score than concede an equaliser as the time ticks down.
87 min: … who pings the ball into the wall.
86 min: N’Jie wins a dangerous free-kick right on the edge of the Qarabag box. Up steps Christian Eriksen …
84 min: Eriksen pings a shot well over the Qarabag bar.
83 min: Qarabag have the ball in the net but so many players are offside it’s barely worth mentioning.
82 min: “Speaking of Spurs namesakes, was there ever a better full-back signed by Spurs in July 2009 from Sheffield United called Kyle than Kyle Naughton?” wonders Matthew Jones. “Sadly for Naughton, the answer is yes.”
81 min: That goal puts Spurs through to the knockout stages as it stands.
80 min: Coefficient turnaround: Spurs lead and Basel have equalised against Fiorentina. Spurs make a change: Son is replaced by Clinton N’Jie. Mammadov replaces Ismayilov for Qarabag.
GOAL! Tottenham 1-0 Qarabag (Kane 78)
Well, it had been coming. Spurs’ 13th corner of the game is glanced on by Son and nodded in from about a yard out by Kane. They’ve deserved it, no question.
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78 min: What a save! Kane is denied by a brilliant Sehic stop from close range.
77 min: Alli hits the post! A superb dinked cross from Vertonghen finds Alli closing in on the Qarabag goal. His first-time effort pings back off the woodwork.
75 min: Quintana: that dude can roll … a pass towards Armenteros which gets cut out by the defender.
74 min: Alderweireld’s flick on from Eriksen’s latest corner (the 11th Spurs corner of the game) just evades Alli at the far post.
73 min: Spurs make their first change: Ryan Mason off, Tom Carroll on.
73 min: There was a second Qarabag change a moment ago: Chumbinho replaced Taghiyev.
72 min: Son is pretty much playing alongside Kane now, and he’s causing all manner of problems. Another dangerous cross from the Spurs right is just cut out.
71 min: Even more coefficient news: Lazio are back ahead against Dnipro.
70 min: This is a fine game all of a sudden. Son goes through behind the Qarabag backline and has the ball pinched off his toes by a defender.
69 min: Fine save Lloris! Quintana smacks in a low shot from the edge of the box and the goalkeeper drops smartly to save.
68 min: And from the resultant short corner Kane blasts a shot against a defender.
67 min: Eric Dier lets fly from distance … and forces Sehic into another fine save.
65 min: Coefficient news: it’s Lazio 1-1 Dnipro.
64 min: Son hits the bar! It’s a wonderful effort from the South Korean forward from the edge of the box, which Sehic somehow manages to tip onto the woodwork.
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63 min: Nothing but net. Side-netting in this case, from a Harry Kane shot.
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62 min: Spurs break with speed through Kane on the left. His ball inside finds Alli on the edge of the box, but his shot only forces Sehic to delve into the Keeping Basics, Vol 1, and drop comfortably to make the save.
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61 min: … played short, botched, cleared.
60 min: Quintana cuts inside from the right and pings a left-foot effort wide of Lloris goal. In fact, it took a deflection off Vertonghen’s challenge. Corner …
59 min: Christian Eriksen drags a shot across the Qarabag goal.
57 min: “Re: best-players-with-a-certain-name-in-the-Spurs-team,” begins Andy Matthews. “Um, Dele Alli?” Now then – he’s decent, sure, but I’m not certain he’s in Dele Adebola’s class just yet.
55 min: Superb stuff from Eriksen, who brilliantly creates space inside the Qarabag box then pops the ball across goal. Alli can’t get a clean shot away, though, and the home side clear. You feel a Spurs goal coming though …
54 min: Qarabag force their first corner of the evening but it comes to nothing. And the home side make their first change: Armenteros replaces Poepon up front.
52 min: “Eriksen has looked a little off tonight,” writes Dave Wheeler. “Is it really necessary for him to always be playing?” I hadn’t noticed any drop in performance really – very tough for him given the way Qarabag are set up.
51 min: Medvedev tumbles off the pitch and manages to rip a carpet of “turf” up as he does so. He’s hurt his hand but he, like Taylor Swift, can shake it off.
50 min: … Sadygov gets his head on it but Spurs are having all of the ball here. They’ve started very brightly after the break.
49 min: Son wriggles into space in the right channel. Huseynov gets a vital touch. Spurs corner …
48 min: Pass, pass, pass from Spurs. Passpasspasspasspass …
47 min: You can follow Liverpool v Bordeaux right here, and in doing so get all the latest on a new foot injury for the unfortunate Daniel Sturridge.
46 min: Elsewhere in Group J, Anderlecht are 1-0 up against Monaco.
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Peep! Off we go again.
A half-time email: “Will Richardson-Lewis is looking in the wrong place if he’s looking for best-players-with-a-certain-name-in-the-Spurs-team,” writes Tony Roberts (presumably not the former QPR goalkeeper Tony Roberts, but who knows?) “There’s plenty of Hugo competition but what about Harry? I can’t think of a better Harry than Harry Kane …”
Fair shout. Former England and Birmingham goalkeeper Harry Hibbs perhaps? And, at his peak, maybe Harry Kewell?
Peep! Half-time. Spurs the better side without really testing Sehic. Qarabag sporadically dangerous on the break. All in all, nothing much to write home about.
44 min: Handbags! Tottenham refuse – quite rightly – to put the ball out of play after Poepon lands awkwardly and stays down and the result is a bit of a scramble in the Qarabag box. The home players are irked to say the least, and we get a bit of squaring up. Almeida is booked for getting all up in Harry Kane’s grill.
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43 min: Qarabag break furiously and Quintana is put through in the right channel, with defenders trailing in his wake. He has two team-mates in the middle but opts instead to shoot and can only scuff at goal.
42 min: Kane pivots on the left corner of the Qarabag box and Almeida does well to block the shot at source.
40 min: Eriksen swirls in a Spurs corner … Alli gets on the end of it, but he’s off-balance and can only guide the ball back into the hands of Sehic.
39 min: The pattern is pretty much set here: Qarabag are going to be very tough to break down but aren’t offering much going forward. Fair to say it hasn’t made for a classic thus far.
38 min: More coefficient news: Fiorentina now 2-0 up in Basel.
37 min: Alderweireld ends Almeida’s charge forward in unceremonious fashion.
35 min: Huseynov beats Davies to Eriksen’s dinked pass and gets clattered by the full-back for his trouble. He’s fine though.
34 min: … taken short, botched, cleared.
33 min: Trippier zips in a low cross. Garayev shins out for a Spurs corner …
31 min: It’s turned into a pitched midfield battle at the moment, the ball hasn’t been out of the middle third of the pitch for a quite a while.
29 min: “Hugo Lloris is the greatest ever footballing Hugo,” writes Will Richardson-Lewis. “Discuss.” Hmm. I think Hugo Sanchez might have something to say about that. Hugo Viana, less of a claim.
28 min: Quintana skips into space outside the Spurs area and feeds Ismaylov on the right. His shot at goal is well struck from a tight angle but straight at Lloris.
27 min: Sehic and Taghiyev get into a right mess in the Qarabag box as the ball bounces between goalkeeper and defender. The ball almost drops for Trippier, but it’s at an awkward height and the home defence can smother the danger.
25 min: Mason surges down the right but straight into a cul-de-sac of Qarabag defenders.
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24 min: In more coefficient news, Fiorentina are ahead in Basel.
22 min: Eriksen zips a beautiful pass into Son, who looks to turn and shoot immediately. His marker, though, is tight enough to block the shot.
20 min: Spurs have just been a little sloppy in the past five minutes or so, with possession given away too easily.
18 min: Medvedev picks up possession 30 yards from goal and the ball pops up invitingly, too invitingly for the full-back to resist. His effort, rather predictably, whistles into the stands behind the goal.
16 min: Chance for Alli! A long diagonal ball finds Tripper scuttling in behind the Qarabag left-back. He pulls it back, but there’s a little too much mustard on it and his team-mate can only poke wide.
15 min: Son is offside in the Qarabag area as the ball drops in dangerously.
14 min: … miscued in by the home side and cleared with some ease by Spurs.
13 min: Taghiyev wins another foul off Trippier, this one on the touchline dangerously close to the Spurs area …
12 min: Trippier loses out to Taghiyev on the right and then drags the midfielder back to concede a free-kick. It’s punted long and aimlessly forward by the home side.
10 min: Qarabag again look neat in possession but they’re struggling to get midfielders on to the ball – it’s just being played between defenders at the moment.
8 min: More whistles as Spurs build up another neat attack. Eriksen has a think about trying something from distance but opts against. Mason on the other hand does have a blast at goal, but it’s well off target.
6 min: Agolli goes down after running into Son – no foul but the left-back took a whack into the breadbasket.
5 min: In coefficient news, Lazio are 1-0 up early on against Dnipro.
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4 min: Lovely work from Alli and Kane down the right, with the ball cut back to Mason on the edge of the area. His effort is straight at Sehic.
2 min: Neat stuff from Qarabag early on, but not really going anywhere. The early possession allows the crowd to get in The Zone a little, though, and Spurs’ first touches on the ball are greeted by a wall of whistles.
Peep! Off we go then under the arches of Tofiq Bahramov Stadium.
“As a Spurs fan I’m not sure how I feel about this side,” writes Tom Hollik. “Do Kyle Walker and Danny Rose really need a rest more than, say, Alli and/or Eriksen?”
I’d imagine part of the thinking behind it is that Spurs can cope a little easier without the former than the latter. And Alli is suspended at the weekend, I believe.
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Click-clack, click-clack … out come the players.
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Here’s some pre-game Poch: “Every game is important. You try and put the best players in every game. We know it’s a very difficult game.”
So: Spurs. Are we seeing a new genuinely title-challenging Tottenham side this season? Or is this all just an unsettling mirage? Pochettino has certainly put to bed any ideas about him putting the Europa League on the back burner with this team selection.
Preamble
Hello all. So an interesting lineup for Spurs, who were initially expected to rest players for this trip to Azerbaijan, particularly with Chelsea looming on Sunday. Mauricio Pochettino has named something approaching a full strength team, with just three changes from the weekend win over West Ham. Kyle Walker and Danny Rose get rests from rampaging up and down the flanks from full-back, with Kieran Trippier and Ben Davies replacing them, and in midfield Ryan Mason comes in for Moussa Dembele, with Delle Alli presumably moving to a more advanced role in the side.
Things remain pretty open in Group J, with Spurs top, Monaco a point behind and Qarabag and Anderlecht a further two points back, so a home win today could make the final matchday a win-or-bust affair. The Azeri team have already beaten Anderlecht at home and drawn with Monaco, but an up-for-it Spurs are clearly the best team in the group and, given the lineup, should secure their passage to the knockout stages with a match to spare this evening.
Kick off: 6pm BST.
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The teams
Qarabag 4-2-1-3: Sehic; Medvedev, Huseynov, Sadygov, Agolli; Garayev, Almeida; Quintana; Taghiyev, Poepon, Ismayilov. Subs: Veliyev, Gurbanov, Yunuszada, Michel. Mammadov, Chumbinho, Armetertos.
Tottenham 4-2-3-1: Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies; Dier, Mason; Alli, Eriksen, Son; Kane. Subs: Vorm, Wimmer, Carroll, Townsend, Onomah, Winks, Njie.
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