FULL TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Anderlecht
And that’s that! Spurs were second best for the majority of the match, if we’re being honest, but on the other hand there’s no arguing with that long-distance winner from Mousa Dembele, worthy of deciding many a rumble. Spurs fought hard to deny a rampant Anderlecht for long periods of the second half, but held firm, and their reward for doing so is a win that takes them top of the group! There’s more than one way to win a football match, after all. Neutrals will feel some sympathy for Anderlecht, and perhaps also for Jared Barnes (34 mins) who had a lovely joke cued up about the visitors, with Gillet in their team, not being ‘armless after all. Ah well.
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90 min +2: Defour, playing quarterback, hits a long pass down the middle. But the Hail Mary doesn’t pay off, and Spurs clear with ease. Son goes off on a skitter to run down more of the clock.
90 min +1: Kane holds the ball up by Anderlecht’s left-hand corner flag. And earns a free kick. Marvellous clock management.
90 min: There will be three added minutes. White Hart Lane has found its collective voice again. Spurs are heading to the top of the Group J table unless there’s some very late drama.
89 min: Acheampong is replaced by Idrissa Sylla.
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GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Anderlecht (Dembele 87)
They’ve been up against it, but now look! Davies and Dembele one-two down the left. Davies crosses. It’s half cleared, but Son picks up possession on the edge of the area, and lays off to Dembele, who romping in from the left unleashes a pearler into the top left! That’s a rare old netburster! And it’ll burst Anderlecht’s hearts, because the visitors have been far the better side in this second half. But this, ladies and gentlemen, is association football!
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86 min: But when you’ve got Harry Kane up front, anything can happen. He picks up possession just inside the Anderlecht box, and despite being surrounded by yellow shirts, drops a shoulder, moves to the right, and gets a snapshot on target. Deschacht blocks for a corner, which is easily cleared.
85 min: A rare Spurs attack, Onomah rolling a pass inside from the left, Dembele shooting weakly from 20 yards. Proto smothers the ball.
83 min: The corner isn’t up to much. White Hart Lane has gone very quiet, though. The home heroes are being bossed.
82 min: Ezekiel wins a monster header down the middle, and feeds Okaka, who returns the ball quickly. Ezekiel slides wide left for Acheampong, who wins yet another corner. Before it can be taken, Anderlecht swap N’Sakala for Ibrahima Conte.
80 min: Ezekiel scampers into space down the left. He should probably score as he enters the box ahead of Alderweireld, but he pauses and allows the defender to slide in and concede a corner. The set piece is a waste of everyone’s time.
78 min: Okaka very nearly tears past Davies down the right. The full back stays on his man’s shoulder. Okaka is close to finding Ezekiel, clear in the middle, but Davies bundles out for a corner, which ends in a dismal long-distance effort from Deschacht. Spurs are hanging on.
77 min: The 18-year-old Joshua Onomah comes on for Alli.
76 min: Anderlecht whip two fierce crosses into the Spurs box from the left. Both times, Alderweireld stands strong to head clear with Okaka waiting to batter a header into the goal from close range. Staunch defence, but Spurs are very much second best right now. Unless they can somehow shift the momentum, like they did in the first half, there’s only one winner of this.
75 min: Lamela has got space to scoot into down the left, but carelessly over-runs the ball. Tottenham’s play is a bit panicked right now.
73 min: As a shocked but hardly surprised White Hart Lane processes that news, Mason is replaced by Dembele.
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GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Anderlecht (Ezekiel 72)
Well, this had been coming. N’Sakala, deep on the left again, swings one into the Spurs box. The substitute Ezekiel steals a march on the Spurs back line, sticks a leg out, and guides the ball off the left-hand post and into the net. No more than Anderlecht deserve.
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71 min: Anderlecht are desperately searching for the leveller. N’Sakala, out on the left, loops a ball into the middle. Defour, to the left of the D, chests it down and sends a screaming volley towards the top left. Just a bit high and wide. But Spurs really need to watch out.
69 min: Acheampong skins Trippier on the left, and whips a low cross towards the near post. Alderweireld hacks out. Before the corner can be taken, Ezekiel comes on for Tielemans. Then the set piece, which is half cleared, only to be hoicked straight back down the middle and into the mixer. Mbodji sticks his leg out in a central position and guides the dropping ball to the right, where Okaka can’t find any power to his shot. So close to the equaliser.
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67 min: All a bit pinball at the moment. Both teams doing a lot of pressing, pressurising the pass, forcing errors. A gegenmess.
65 min: Alli, his back to play, very nearly releases Son down the left and into the area with a John Barnes flick. Not quite. But very close, and very inventive. Then Lamela tries to curl one into the top right with the outside of his left boot. This is a hard-working Spurs side, but they pretty it up with some lovely flourishes too.
62 min: Anderlecht are not afraid to commit men forward. Deschacht, the defender on the left-hand edge of the Spurs area, wins a corner. Nothing comes of it. This is a wonderfully entertaining, open game.
61 min: Son rolls a pass into the Anderlecht box from the left. It’s half cleared, but only 20 yards out on the left to Davies, who takes a touch and Le Tissiers a stunning dipping volley onto the crossbar. If only that had nestled into the top right, screeching over Proto, we’d have had a picture-book goal for the ages.
60 min: Son’s first touch sends Kane into space down the left. Kane finds Lamela, who shuttles the ball inside for Alli. The young midfielder batters a rising shot towards the top right. It’s deflected off Mbodji’s back for a corner, which is cleared with a crashing defensive header by Gillet.
58 min: Nothing comes of the corner. Eriksen, who has been uncharacteristically quiet, is replaced by Son, who returns after six weeks off with an injured foot.
57 min: Alli slides a pass down the left for Kane, who isn’t far away from latching onto the ball. But Proto is out quickly to smother. Anderlecht fizz up the other end, Defour whipping a gorgeous cross into the box from the right. Okaka would have had a clear header from six yards had Trippier not eyebrowed out for a corner in the nick of time.
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55 min: Anderlecht are dominating possession. After a long period of passing in the middle, Defour, on the right, wallops a diagonal ball towards Acheampong on the left. For a second, Trippier having misjudged his high challenge, it looks like the Anderlecht man will be scampering free down the wing. But the flag goes up for a marginal offside. Spurs want to watch themselves here.
53 min: Once again Anderlecht have started the half strongly. Tielemans whips a pass wide right to Defour, who is in a bit of space in the Spurs area. Fortunately for the hosts, he decides to faff around and can’t deliver a shot or find a killer pass.
52 min: Kane sweeps down the left and rolls the ball inside for Lamela, who takes one step into the box and opts to fall over. He claims a penalty, but come along.
51 min: Good word by Acheampong down the left. His cross is deflected out of play to the right of goal, off Trippier’s head. A couple of corners come to nothing. But then Najar goes on a power dribble down the right. He nearly breaks through the Spurs back line thanks to a crisp one-two with Okaka, but Alderweireld steps in to put a stop to his fancy ideas.
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49 min: This is enjoyable end-to-end fare. Alli skedaddles down the inside-left channel, but can’t find Lamela on his inside with the visitors stretched. Then Defour, striding down the inside right, whistles a low shot towards the bottom left. That’s going in, and Lloris does very well to stretch out an arm and parry away from danger.
48 min: Anderlecht make their first attack of the half, and the ball drops to the centre back Deschacht, of all people, on the right of the D. He attempts a curler into the top left. Nope!
47 min: But Trippier’s not giving up, and makes another good run down the right. He finds Eriksen in the area. The Danish international wins a corner with a rococo dribble, but then takes it himself from the right, and it’s not much cop.
46 min: Alli sprays the ball wide right for the constantly rampaging Trippier. It’s not quite been the full-back’s day so far, though, and his needlessly rushed cross is blocked by Deschacht.
And we're off again!
Anderlecht get the ball rolling for the second half. No changes. And before the action really gets going, here’s some more gilet bodywarmer chat, courtesy of Tim Smith: “In my house, the item of clothing in question was referred to as hot water tank lagging, which pretty well sums up the garment, don’t you think?” Hey, form follows function. A bit like Spurs in that first half.
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HALF TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Anderlecht
Alli, dribbling along the left, goes over lamely in the box, and makes a half-arsed claim for a penalty. Nope! Then Kane slips a ball down the left channel for Lamela, who can’t quite get there ahead of Proto, who rushes off his line. And that’s that for the opening 45. Anderlecht were the better team until the goal, but Kane’s brilliant strike changed the momentum of the match as well as the scoreline itself. It should make for a fascinating second half. But as things stand, Spurs are heading to the top of Group J.
45 min: Kane sprays that ball wide right to Trippier again. This time he finds his man. Trippier feeds Eriksen, who drops a shoulder to cut inside N’Sakala and enters the area. But Deschacht forms a barrier. That was a pretty and crisp move.
44 min: Neither side is putting on a passing masterclass right now.
42 min: Eriksen’s delivery is appalling. But Spurs recycle the ball on the left. Alderweireld feeds Alli, who curls a high one towards the far post. Kane rises, but can’t get any purchase on the header he aims towards the top right. Proto plucks the ball from the sky with a yawn.
41 min: Deschacht miskicks a clearance. Alli picks up possession down the right, and is immediately upended by N’Sakala, who is booked for his trouble. He can have no complaints, but gives it a good go anyway, trotting out the old It Was Me First Challenge Guv’not argument. Nope, yellow it is. And a free kick to Spurs in a dangerous position down the right, a chance to load the box.
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39 min: Dier fizzes a low, hard pass down the inside-left channel to find Kane in a lot of space on the left-hand corner of the Anderlecht box. What a pass! What delivery! But Kane steps on the ball, then attempts a backheel and falls over. Slapstick stylings. Hey, he’s in credit this evening.
37 min: Spurs are first to everything right now. Kane, cutting in from the left, nearly releases Trippier on the right with a delightful crossfield pass. He’s denied by some determined backtracking from N’Sakala.
34 min: Spurs are seeing a lot more of the ball right now. That goal really has given them a boost. Or it’s certainly knocked the stuffing out of Anderlecht. Perhaps both. “Has anyone made the Gillet/gilet joke yet about Tim Sherwood returning?” asks Jared Barnes. “If not can you assume that I did and that it was really quite funny?” Nope. be my guest. The stage is/was yours. Incidentally, when did gilet overtake bodywarmer in the British common parlance as the most popular proper noun for a padded, sleeveless jacket? If you asked someone to pass your gilet on licensed premises back in the day, you’d have got a chalked pool cue in your eye.
31 min: A frustrated Tielemans lashes a long-distance effort miles over the bar from his position down the inside-right channel. A bit early to get all hot in the face. He’ll do well to remember that Anderlecht came from behind in Belgium, so all is not lost for the visitors. On the other hand, that should have settled a rather pensive and occasionally nervous Spurs. White Hart Lane is a noisy place again.
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Anderlecht (Kane 29)
After a long pause for the Okaka nonsense, the game restarts. Or more to the point, Spurs restart, but Anderlecht don’t. Eriksen, on the edge of the D, slips a pass right to Kane, who rushes in and lashes a first-time shot into the bottom left. Unstoppable! Spurs have been second best up to this point, but where Okaka earlier paused, Kane has been proactive, with extreme prejudice. It’s also worth noting that Okaka was off the pitch when the goal went in, karmic payback for all that pointless rolling around.
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28 min: Okaka performs a triple salchow with pike after being brushed lightly in the face by the hand of Lamela. He’s getting short shrift from both crowd and referee as he rolls around on the ground quite a lot, and with feeling.
25 min: Acheampong romps down the left channel, and rolls a ball inside for Okaka, who spins Mason on the edge of the D. He should get a dangerous shot away, but once again is overly ponderous, and allows Mason to get back in and block. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
23 min: This Is Better From Spurs pt.II. Lamela dances in from the left, and enters the area. Toes a-twinkling, he can’t quite end the fancy dribble by guiding a low shot into the bottom right. But that wasn’t far off. The home side finally getting into this game.
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22 min: This is better from Spurs, as Alli goes on a scamper down the left and earns a corner. The set piece is cleverly worked to Kane on the left-hand corner of the area. He drops a shoulder and evades two challenges to enter the box, but a heavy touch compromises his ability to shoot, and the ball balloons to the right. Trippier, from 30 yards, hits the worst long-range effort in the history of All Football.
20 min: A lull in the game. Which is good news for Spurs, who have been a bit tatty so far. Some time to work things out, perhaps.
17 min: N’Sakala makes good ground down the left. Spurs are a bit all over the shop. He should find Okaka in the middle, but thankfully from the home team’s perspective, the attempted cross is not of the desired quality.
15 min: Tottenham are being outplayed here at the moment. Najar shuffles his way down the right. Davies isn’t too confident in dealing with the threat. He backs off and backs off. Najar eventually works a little room to shoot on the right-hand edge of the Spurs box, but slices his shot wide right. The away fans are making the most noise in an otherwise nervous stadium.
14 min: The shots rain in on Tottenham’s goal. First Acheampong tries to Van Basten one in from a ludicrously tight angle on the left. It’s not on target, but it wasn’t a bad attempt. Then Tielemans threads a low shot inches wide of the left-hand post. Not sure Lloris was getting to that.
12 min: Vertonghen momentarily turns into Garrincha. He beats two men down the left, hugging the touchline, before reaching the byline and pulling a ball back into the centre. Kane gets a flick on, but there’s nobody on the penalty spot to convert. Mbodji strides off with the ball.
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11 min: Lamela makes good ground down the middle. He slips the ball wide left for Eriksen, whose teasing cross into the middle very nearly finds Kane. But Deschacht rises first to intercept the ball.
9 min: From the resulting corner, Gillet is afforded a free header from eight yards. He powers it over the bar, and was offside anyway. But already it’s clear that Anderlecht have come to north London with a mind to cause bother. And it’s not clear that Spurs have the wherewithal to deal with it. They’ve looked rather open at the back.
8 min: Gillet batters long. Okaka holds it up down the inside-left channel, before laying off for Defour, whose rising shot from 25 yards is a goodie. Lloris is forced to tip over. Here’s Graham Down, with reference to that Uefa Cup Final of 1984: “I was there! In the Paxton Road stand. What a fantastic night that was! Now I’m relegated to following the commentary from the other side of the planet, in Wellington, NZ, where it’s a stunning blue sky day and the All Blacks are parading their trophy at mid-day.” You appear to be a lucky charm, Graham. I wonder if this MBM will win a Pulitzer?
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5 min: But the best form of defence is attack. Lamela works his way down the right and earns a corner. That one leads to another corner on the opposite side. Under pressure from Vertonghen, who is earning his money so far, Proto punches clear. An eventful start, all told!
3 min: Spurs have learned nothing. Lamela fannies around in the middle of his own half, and allow Okaka to embark on another sortie down the inside-left flank. He’s free on goal! But fortunately for Spurs, he faffs around himself, thinking far too long before cocking his leg to shoot, and Vertonghen can slide in to deny the striker once again. What a duel this is going to be, especially if Vertonghen’s team-mates continue to be so dozy.
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2 min: Within 30 seconds, Okaka is causing Spurs bother down the inside-left channel. His presence forces Vertonghen to intervene, conceding a corner. The set piece is a nonsense, and easily cleared, but that’s a slow start by the home team, and a fast one by a striker who caused Tottenham no end of bother a couple of weeks ago.
And we're off!
After a false start, Spurs get the ball rolling. A rare old European atmosphere at the Lane. “Juande Ramos is a mystery,” opines Gene Salorio. “Whatever happened to him at Spurs seems to have stuck. Roberto Soldado in contrast scored two earlier this evening, one of them even not a penalty, and seems to be recovering from his the funk at White Hart Lane.”
Anyway, the teams are out. Spurs in their famous white, Anderlecht in a ludicrous neon lemon. Hey, it did Manchester City no harm at Sevilla the other night. We’ll be off in a minute!
And here’s a quick reminder of how things stand in Group J. Qarabag and Monaco drew 1-1 earlier today, so that puts the French side two points clear at the top, on six. Qarabag are still bottom with four points. But that’s with four games played to Tottenham and Anderlecht’s three. Whoever wins at White Hart Lane tonight will go top: both teams already have four points. A draw will see Anderlecht stay above Spurs in second. This state of affairs could almost certainly have been explained with more clarity, but I’m in a rush and also generally confused, rather like a sweet dog. Think of this entry as a riddle. Imagine it being read out in the soothing tones of Gyles Brandreth.
Mauricio Pochettino speaks! “Our mentality is always to go forward. It’s a good team to win a game. Son is an important player for us, so it’s good that he’s on the bench. We need the three points tonight in a difficult group. It’s very important to take the points.” Yep, he’s up for the cup all right.
White Hart Lane. What a beautiful stadium, huh? And here’s another question, courtesy of Peter Mumola: “Does this line-up ahead of the north London derby indicate that Pochettino thinks this tournament may be their best route to the Champions League?” Here’s an unfashionable answer: perhaps he thinks this tournament is worth winning in its own right. I doubt anyone involved with Spurs would turn their nose up at a repeat of 1984 next May. And it’s not as though obsessing over Champions League qualification at the expense of everything else has done Arsenal any favours over the long haul. Still, each to their own.
A strong starting XI named by Tottenham Hotspur tonight. No thought of Arsenal at the weekend. Kieran Trippier and Ben Davies get their usual European run-outs at full back. On the bench, Son Heung-Min makes a tentative return from injury. Anderlecht meanwhile make three changes to the team that started in their 2-1 victory over Spurs last month. Defender Ivan Obradovic, midfielder Dennis Praet and forward Imoh Ezekiel drop out - the first two altogether, the latter to the bench - with midfielders Andy Najar and Frank Acheampong, and defender Fabrice N’Sakala coming in.
Tonight's teams
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies, Mason, Dier, Alli, Eriksen, Lamela, Kane.
Subs: Vorm, Son, Dembele, Fazio, Onomah, Wimmer, Carroll.
Anderlecht: Proto, Gillet, Mbodji, Deschacht, N’Sakala, Najar, Dendoncker, Defour, Acheampong, Tielemans, Okaka.
Subs: Roef, Suarez, Nuytinck, Conte, Sylla, Lukebakio, Ezekiel.
Referee: Orel Grinfeld (Israel)
Preamble
Tottenham Hotspur and Anderlecht. It can mean only one thing: the 1984 Uefa Cup final. Spurs prevailed in that one, of course, famously beating the Belgians on penalties, Graham Roberts the hero of the evening with his late, stumbling equaliser and opening spot kick. The deciding penalty, saved by Tony Parks, was taken by Arnór Guðjohnsen, Eiður’s dad. A long time ago.
Then again, 2007 seems a while back too. That’s when the teams next met, in the Uefa Cup groups. Juande Ramos was Tottenham’s boss. Juande Ramos! A blast from the past, right there.
Ramos is, of course, the last Spurs manager to lift a trophy. Mauricio Pochettino could well threaten that record sometime soon. He’s quietly turning Spurs into a serious proposition. His work’s gone under the radar this season, with most of the headlines in the Premier League, for one reason or another, being made by Chelsea, Arsenal, both Manchester clubs, Liverpool, West Ham and Leicester City. But Spurs are looking good: no defeats in the league since the opening day, a freak exit in the League Cup - two goals from Mathieu Flamini, for goodness sake! - and one loss in this Europa League Group J to ...
... yes, Anderlecht. Spurs took the lead early in Belgium last month through Christian Eriksen, but Guillaume Gillet and Stefano Okaka turned it round for the hosts. But a payback win for Spurs here today will see them leapfrog Anderlecht in the group standings, and take control of their European destiny. Their quest is boosted by both history and form. Anderlecht have yet to win in 14 games in England, losing 12 of them. They’re also without an away win in their last 12 European trips. Spurs meanwhile are unbeaten in six European home fixtures. So for Spurs, all signs on the back of Puddy’s jacket point to yes!
Kick off: 8.05pm in north London, 9.05pm in Brussels.
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