It will take more than this to prove that Tottenham Hotspur pose a credible all-round threat when Harry Kane is not firing on all cylinders, but two first-half goals from home debutant Son Heung-min and a late third from Érik Lamela ensured they overcame an enterprising Qarabag side to begin their Europa League campaign with three points. The home team improved after going behind to Richard Almeida’s early penalty without ever exerting firm control on a game that ricocheted from end to end.
Mauricio Pochettino makes little secret of his view that the rigours of the Premier League do not feel conducive to a tilt at this competition and it was no surprise that he made six changes from Sunday’s win at Sunderland. Debuts were given to the Austrian centre-back Kevin Wimmer and the right-back Kieran Trippier, while Tommy Carroll’s start was his first for Tottenham since August 2013, when Dinamo Tbilisi were beaten 3-0.
A more exacting workout was expected from the Azeri champions, who took points off Inter Milan, Saint-Etienne and the runners-up Dnipro in last season’s competition. Pochettino had expressed “surprise” at their quality before the game but in reality opponents are well apprised that Gurban Gurbanov’s team pose a danger above that of the typical minnow.
The point was succinctly made within seven minutes. Reynaldo Silva had already shot at Hugo Lloris when, from a fast break, the left-back Ansi Agolli was clipped inside the area by Trippier. There was little scope for complaint and Trippier’s punishment was confirmed when Richard Almeida’s penalty beat Lloris.
Tottenham’s only encouragement in a tentative opening 20 minutes was a deflected shot by Son, starting in a central attacking position with Kane rested. Qarabag were crisp and alert, Almeida setting a brisk tempo high in midfield, and the Brazilian scuffed another effort towards Lloris after a lengthy spell of possession.
It was a level of application that made what followed, in a 144-second spell before the half-hour, all the more perplexing. Son had barely had a touch inside the penalty area when an Andros Townsend corner, swung in from the right, found him alone in the middle of the six-yard box. The fact that Son, four yards out, was allowed to clip the ball past Ibrahim Sehic on the bounce laid bare a weakness that Tottenham had belatedly managed to expose.
They repeated the trick straightaway when Dele Alli, receiving the ball in the inside-right channel, left the centre-back Rashad Sadygov sprawling with a check back and centred for Son, this time arriving late, to finish again.
“I’ve been very pleased with him, very happy,” said Pochettino of Son, whose debut had been as a wide attacker at the Stadium of Light. “His performances and adaptation to the club were very good from the beginning. At Hamburg he played as a striker and after, at Leverkusen, he played wider. He’s a very exciting player with the quality to play in different positions.”
Alli, his footwork and imagination standing out, could have scored a quick third when Sehic blocked his shot. The teenager was Tottenham’s most inventive player and his manager spoke glowingly of his mature approach.
“From the beginning of pre season he looked like an 18-year-old who could play like an experienced player,” Pochettino said. “He showed character, personality and good quality, and he is a player that shows he can play in the first team. But to keep the same level through a season is not easy and it’s important to take care of him and try to keep him at the level he has shown.”
Qarabag’s early poise had disappeared but they should have levelled when Danny Rose, attempting to chest the ball back, sold Lloris short and Afran Ismayilov lifted over.
Urgency had largely deserted Lamela in the first half but he almost contributed in the 53rd minute when he was sent clear by Townsend but shot against Sehic’s left post. Moments later he played a clever pass to Son, whose chipped attempt at a hat-trick was claimed by Sehic.
Qarabag retained an attacking threat even if their early compactness had become a distant memory. Pochettino sought to eliminate doubt by introducing Kane in place of Son, who was given a hearty farewell, and making Clinton N’Jie the evening’s latest debutant.
Dani Quintana immediately missed a chance that Kane would have craved, planting a free header at Lloris from an Agalli cross. Another opportunity fell to the away substitute Samuel Armenteros, but Lamela would have the final word four minutes from time when he dinked in a slide-rule pass from Kane.
“I’m happy because the team showed character,” Pochettino said. “In different periods of the game we played well and I think winning 3-1 in Europe – with a lot of players playing for the first time in the season, which is not the same as training – is very important for us.”
