It was the moment when the Tottenham home crowd could forget about their recent frustrations and lose themselves in the joy of it all; the glorious release. Their team had been too good for Copenhagen, who showed virtually nothing – certainly not in a positive sense.
Spurs were 2-0 up after Wilson Odobert’s goal but there was a glitch when Brennan Johnson, who had opened the scoring, was sent off in the 57th minute. The foul on Marcos López was more clumsy than sinister yet when the referee, Erik Lambrechts, was advised to go to the pitchside monitor, Johnson’s involvement was over.
Enter Micky van de Ven. The centre-half has become synonymous with the swashbuckling and he was at it again when he seized possession on the edge of his own penalty box and started to motor. It was a blur as he left four Copenhagen players in his wake, twisting initially to get through the first couple but picking up an inexorable head of steam when he straightened up.
Nobody was going to catch him and there was an inevitability, too, about the finish once he got to the edge of the other area, the ball lashed home left-footed past the hapless Copenhagen goalkeeper, Dominik Kotarski. Spurs have their goal of the season already and it was possible to wonder whether it might compete for the more prestigious individual prizes in this area. There were shades of Son Heung-min versus Burnley in 2019 – and that one won the Puskas award.
It was Van de Ven’s sixth goal of the season and it set Spurs up for a confidence-boosting win, one that took them to eight points from four unbeaten Champions League ties. João Palhinha, on as a substitute, added the fourth and they could even shrug off a late penalty miss from another replacement, Richarlison, his shot bouncing down off the crossbar and away.
Were the crowd unhappy he took the kick rather than Dane Scarlett, another substitute, who had won it? The pre-match theme had been the ability of those fans to become a little vexed. There were boos for Richarlison as he prepared to step up. But this was not a night for those sort of musings, rather one to celebrate.
Xavi Simons needed a performance and delivered; it was just a shame that he was withdrawn after Johnson’s dismissal, Thomas Frank sending on Palhinha. Johnson was good, too, before the red card and if Randal Kolo Muani missed a couple of sitters, he redeemed himself with a fine assist for Odobert.
Spurs had been desperate for something on their own turf, the match framed by the horror of the Premier League defeat here against Chelsea on Saturday and everything that went with it – the continuation of the dismal home league form, the negativity of the fans, a furious Van de Ven blanking Frank at full time, as did Djed Spence. “Micky can keep walking past me if he’s angry after a game,” Frank said with a smile. “It seems like we had Lionel Messi turned into Micky.”
Spurs made the breakthrough in the 19th minute; the start of a more enjoyable occasion for them. Johnson had blown an early half-chance with a poor first touch but he got everything right when he darted in behind a couple of Copenhagen defenders and was found by a lovely curved ball from Simons.
Copenhagen had been caught on a quick transition after Gabriel Pereira misplaced a simple pass. Worse was to come as Johnson surged onto the ball, Kotarski bolting from his line; a race he was never going to win. Johnson touched around him and finished from a tight angle.
Copenhagen lag fourth in the Danish Superliga, six points behind the leaders, Aarhus. They arrived in London with a single point from their previous three Champions League ties. In short, all is not well with them. Their threat was minimal and there was too much looseness. They struggled sorely to build up against the Spurs press.
Simons sniffed out spaces from the No 10 role; his turns were sharp, he probed with menace. He created two huge chances for Kolo Muani towards the end of the first half, which the on-loan Paris Saint-Germain striker fluffed. First, after Simons had worked a slick give-and-go with Odobert, Kolo Muani dragged wide from close range. And then, following a perfect Simons cross, he headed over when unmarked from six yards.
Copenhagen had issues all over the pitch but they began in goal and Spurs’s second also had Kotarski’s prints on it. He looked odds on to get out to a long ball only he was so slow, offering Kolo Muani hope. The Spurs player kept running and he was able to make the block, the ball spinning high towards the empty neat. Whereupon Kolo Muani brought it down with a sumptuous touch before teeing up Odobert.
The red card for Johnson never threatened to derail Spurs. If anything, they were more menacing with 10 men, counterattacking in waves, Copenhagen completely losing their way. Johnson’s challenge looked worse on the relays but he did catch López down the achilles with his studs. It led to Frank withdrawing Simons, who could not suppress his unhappiness. The scene was set for Van de Ven.
