José Mourinho tried to maintain low profile in his first home game but met with drama all the way as Tottenham qualify for the UEFA Champions League knockout phase in an epic 4-2 comeback win.
LONDON, 2019, NOVEMBER, 26 – Tottenham Hotspur made it 2 from 2 for their new boss after Mauricio Pochettino was sacked by the club.
Dreadful defending from the home side saw them down early by 2 goals within the opening 20 minutes, with goals coming from Youssef El-Arabi’s low-driven shot (6’) and Rúben Semedo’s close range effort (19’).
Mourinho’s tactical masterstroke to replace Eric Dier for Christian Eriksen in the 29th minute proved the difference as the London-side staged a remarkable comeback kick-started with Dele Alli just before the break, gifted by Yassine Meriah’s defensive error.
Harry Kane netted the equaliser from Lucas Moura’s cross five minutes into the second half . Spurs were ‘assisted’ by an alert ball boy whose quick reactions enabled Serge Aurier to catch Olympiacos off-guard with a quick throw-in.
With 17 minutes remaining, the defender completed the comeback with a far-post finish. Harry Kane wrapped up the night four minutes later, headed home from Eriksen’s free-kick.
The double took the England captain’s Champions League goal tally to 20 in 24 games – breaking previous record holder Alessandro Del Piero by 2 games (26) with Juventus.
Ruud van Nistelrooy took 27 games, Filippo Inzaghi with 28 games and Mario Gomez with 32.
GOALS:
Youssef El-Arabi (6’), Rúben Semedo (19’), Dele Alli (45’), Harry Kane (50’, 77’), Serge Aurier (73’)
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR:
Paulo Gazzaniga, Serge Aurier, Davinson Sánchéz, Toby Alderweireld, Danny Rose, Harry Winks, Eric Dier (Christian Eriksen 29’), Lucas Moura (Moussa Sissoko 61’), Dele Alli (Tanguy Ndombele 83’), Son Heung-Min, Harry Kane
OLYMPIACOS:
José Sá, Kostantinos Tsimikas, Yassine Meriah, Rúben Semedo, Omar Ellabdellaoui, Andreas Bouchalakis (Mathieu Valbuena 74’), Guilherme, Mady Camara, Giorgos Masouras, Daniel Podence (Lazar Ranđelović 79’), Youssef El-Arabi (Miguel Guerrero 85’)
