Thomas Frank’s Tottenham strengthened their chances of a top-8 finish in the Champions League with a confident 3-0 win over Slavia Prague.
Tottenham Hotspur arrived in Europe off the back of a 2-0 win over Brentford at the weekend, and while that result had eased some of the weight on Thomas Frank, this one still felt like a box they had to tick.
Joao Palhinha and Wilson Odobert were the two changes from the league outing, with Rodrigo Bentancur and Randal Kolo Muani getting a rest. Mathys Tel made it into Spurs’ Champions League squad after being initially left out, replacing Dominic Solanke, who is ruled out until the end of the year.
First half: Tottenham 1-0 Slavia Prague
Spurs should have been in front inside the first 30 seconds when Wilson Odobert darted into the box and played a low ball across the goal for Richarlison. The Brazilian made the right run and connected cleanly, only for goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek to shoulder the effort over the bar.
Stanek was busy again later, this time getting down to keep out Mohammed Kudus after Cristian Romero split the Slavia defence with a brilliant through ball.
Romero then eventually helped Tottenham to their opener when he flicked on Porro’s corner, and Zima headed into his own net for Tottenham’s 100th Champions League goal.
Micky van de Ven, unfortunately, picked up a yellow card shortly before the goal, enough to trigger a one-match suspension that rules him out of next month’s meeting with Borussia Dortmund.
Slavia managed a couple of half-openings of their own, mostly falling to Michal Sadilek and Lukas Provod, but neither could take advantage when found in space around the Tottenham box.
Second half: Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Slavia Prague
Spurs were gifted a route to a second goal almost immediately after the restart when Porro’s cross into the box hit Sanyang’s arm. Despite Richarlison being on the pitch, Mohammed Kudus took responsibility from the spot to double Tottenham’s lead.
Spurs had the chance to put the game out of sight when Odobert found himself one-on-one with Stanek, but he couldn’t find a finish that beat the keeper.
Mathys Tel, making his Champions League debut for Spurs, then produced a sharp bit of footwork before unleashing a powerful strike that Stanek parried, with Pape Sarr unable to turn in the rebound.
Tottenham finally added their third when Xavi Simons was tripped in the Slavia box just as he was about to shoot, winning Spurs a second penalty. Simons took it himself and scored his second Tottenham goal.
FT: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 3-0 SLAVIA PRAGUE
Spurs Web man of the match: Xavi Simons
What’s next for Spurs?
While a 3-0 win with an own goal and two penalties doesn’t look pretty, anyone who watched the game would say it was a well-deserved win for Tottenham, who thankfully didn’t disappoint when their former captain Heung-min Son cheered on from the stands.
The win also means that Tottenham extended their five-year unbeaten record at home in Europe, but that will surely come to a huge test when they host Borussia Dortmund next month.
That reminds us of the only real negative of the game, which was Frank not resting van de Ven despite being well aware that the Dutch defender was just one yellow card away from a one-game suspension.
Everything else about the game was still positive, and they simply had to make the most of this fixture, given they only have two games left to get into the top eight – a finish that will secure automatic qualification into the round of 16. Their next two games, though, are definitely harder than this.
That said, Tottenham now sit right on the edge in 9th place, with plenty of teams below them still holding a game in hand.
Next up is an away fixture to Nottingham Forest on Sunday, where Tottenham will hope to make it three wins in three.