Tottenham Hotspur have one foot in the automatic last 16 of the Europa League after beating Hoffenheim in Germany in the seventh round on Thursday night.
Spurs took the lead in the first few minutes, Pedro Porro sending a long pass over the top into the path of James Maddison to control and finish for a dream start.
There was an element of luck in the second half of the evening, Son Heung-min scored. Maddison’s deflected pass put the Spurs captain on target and his deflected shot went over Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann.
Brandon Austin made a great save to keep it 2-0 in the first half, before Hoffenheim’s onslaught followed after the break. The hosts hit the crossbar through ex-Leicester City striker Andrej Kramarić, before VAR intervened to overturn a penalty against Austin.
Hoffenheim then pulled one back through Anton Stach, but Son gave Spurs some breathing room with just over ten minutes to play with a step-up and low shot across the goal from the left. And that proved crucial when substitute David Mokwa reduced the deficit again in the closing stages.
|
Player |
Evaluation |
|---|---|
|
GK: Oliver Baumann (c) |
1.6.10 |
|
RB: Pavel Kaderabek |
6.3/10 |
|
CB: Kevin Akpoguma |
5.2/10 |
|
CB: Stanley N’Soka |
6.8/10 |
|
LB: David Jurasek |
6.5/10 |
|
RM: Adam Hlozek |
6.3/10 |
|
CM: Anton Stach |
8.0/10 |
|
CM: Finn Becker |
7.3/10 |
|
LM: Tom Bischof |
6.9/10 |
|
ST: Andrej Kramarić |
7.3/10 |
|
ST: Max Moerstedt |
6.4/10 |
|
SUBSTITUTION: David Mokwa (78′ for Stach) |
7.2/10 |
|
REPLACEMENT: Arthur Chaves (80′ for Bischof) |
6.5/10 |
|
SUBSTITUTION: Florian Micheler (81′ for Hlozek) |
ON |
Substitutes not used: Luca Philipp (GK), Tim Philipp (GK), Luca Erlein, Robin Hranac, Valentin Gendrey, Hennes Behrens, Luka Đurić, Simon Kalambayi.
|
Player |
Evaluation |
|---|---|
|
GK: Brandon Austin |
7.7/10 |
|
RB: Pedro Porro |
7.4/10 |
|
CB: Radu Dragušin |
6.8/10 |
|
CB: Ben Davies |
7.4/10 |
|
LB: Archie Gray |
6.9/10 |
|
CM: Lucas Bergvall |
7.4/10 |
|
CM: Rodrigo Bentancur |
8.1/10 |
|
CM: James Maddison |
8.7/10 |
|
RW: Dejan Kulusevski |
6.8/10 |
|
ST: Richarlison |
6.6/10 |
|
LW: Son Heung-min (c) |
8.9/10 |
|
SUB: Mikey Moore (56′ for Richarlison) |
6.7/10 |
|
SUB: Will Lankshear (79′ for Son) |
6.2/10 |
|
SUBSTITUTION: Callum Olusesi (89′ for Maddison) |
ON |
Subs not used: Fraser Forster (GK), Alfie Whiteman (GK), Dante Cassanova, Malachi Hardy, Damola Ajayi.
Man of the match – Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
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