SPURS CRUISE TO WIN ON EVENTFUL CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NIGHT
Tottenham Hotspur moved to within touching distance of a place in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds with a 3-0 home win over Slavia Prague on Tuesday evening.
Spurs could have taken the lead inside the opening minute when Richarlison failed to convert a golden opportunity, and the hosts opened up Slavia Prague time and again in a chaotic and end-to-end first half.
But the opening goal, when it came, was courtesy of Slavia Prague defender David Zima, who was unable to react in time when Cristian Romero flicked on a corner, heading the ball into his own net.
The unusually open nature of the game continued after the interval, with the visitors playing a risky man-to-man approach, not to much success. And Tottenham’s relentless attacking opportunities led to two penalties in the second half, as rushed challenges in the box saw Pedro Porro and Xavi Simons felled.
It was the lively Mohammed Kudus who stepped home to slot home the first, with Xavi converting the penalty he won to make it 3-0 on 79 minutes.
Tottenham could, and probably should have scored many more on the night, playing with impressive intent but a lack of cohesion in attack. But the result is what truly matter for Thomas Frank’s side, who are on the verge of securing a spot in the play-off round and are well-placed to push for one of the top-eight spots, with fixtures against German clubs Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt to come in the new year.
Spurs are now unbeaten in each of their last 21 major European home matches (W17 D4), a record that stretches back to a 0-1 defeat against RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League in February 2020. It’s Spurs’ longest unbeaten run at home in Europe in over 40 years.
