Spurs Seal Top Spot With Antwerp Win

Second-half goals from Carlos Vinicius and the outstanding Giovani Lo Celso saw Spurs overhaul Royal Antwerp to win their Europa League group. The victory ensures that Spurs will now face unseeded opposition when the competition resumes in February.

Jose Mourinho rang the changes from Sunday’s success in the North London derby. Only Reguilon and Lo Celso kept their places in the side. Recognising the problems Antwerp had given his side when they beat Tottenham one-nil in Belgium, Mourinho deployed three central defenders here.

Spurs threatened early on as Lo Celso delivered dangerously from a series of corners. Tanganga and Bale both went close with headers as Alireza Beiranvand in the Antwerp goal repeatedly came from his line but failed to conquer.

The keeper was able to overcome his nervous start, saving well from Vinicius on 18 minutes after the Brazillian had been set through by a Gareth Bale flick-on.

Just after the half-hour mark, the vibrant Lo Celso – at the heart of Spurs best play throughout the match – showed lovely close control when skipping beyond two players. A cheeky nutmeg on the edge of the box enabled him a shooting chance. His attempt to swerve the ball home using the outside of his boot fell too close to Beiranvand, who was able to parry the shot away.

The best chance of the half came two minutes before the interval. Lucas Moura found a pocket of space between the Antwerp midfield and defence. The forward’s appreciation of Carlos Vinicius’s canny movement has served Tottenham well in the Europa League so far this season, and Moura immediately slipped the ball into his compatriot. The striker clean through on the angle was hesitant with his first touch, and his subsequent left foot shot was comfortably repelled by Beiranvand.

During the break, Mourinho replaced Reguilon with Bergwijn and reverted to a back four. His hope that this more attacking set-up would result in an early second-half breakthrough failed to materialise.

With ten minutes of the second half played the Tottenham manager had seen enough. Kane, Son, and Ndombele began getting stripped on the sideline. Before they were ready to enter the field, Moura picked up the ball and drove at the heart of the Antwerp defence. Abdoulaye Seck sent the Brazilian crashing to the ground. Having been booked for an identical foul in the first half, the referee’s decision not to issue the defender with a second yellow card prompted the Tottenham bench to spring up in protest.

They’d barely had time to sit back down when Gareth Bale’s dipping 30-yard free-kick was clawed on to the post by Beiranvand. The ball then dropped to the unmarked Vinicius who tapped it across the line to give Spurs the lead.

The goal did not convince Mourinho to pull back from his proposed triple substitution. Bale, Vinicius and Winks were the men to make way. A disconsolate Winks – who is desperate to re-establish himself in Tottenham’s Premier Lague side – headed straight down the tunnel.

Son was quickly into the action, forcing Beiranvand to tip his left-foot shot over the bar. From the resulting corner, Kane headed wide from just three yards out.

Sissoko’s introduction as Tottenham’s final substitute shortly after consigned Dele Alli to yet another 90 minutes of non-action. In short order, the French international made his mark on the match. Intercepting the ball in the Antwerp half before finding Harry Kane with a quick pass. The England captain tickled the ball into Lo Celso’s path as the midfielder burst into the box. Lo Celso’s measured finish with the outside of his left boot was a fitting reward for what was the Argentine’s best display in a Tottenham shirt.

Wisely Spurs conserved their energy in the remaining 19 minutes. They now enter the season’s relentless Christmas period still competing on all four fronts.