Barcelona 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
A late Lucas Moura strike was enough to fire Spurs into the last 16 of the Champions League after a pulsating contest in the Camp Nou.
Mauricio Pochettino was full of belief that his Spurs team could beat Barcelona but in the end, they didn’t need to. All Spurs needed to do was match Inter Milan’s result against PSV Eindhoven and, remarkably, Inter couldn’t beat the bottom club.
Barcelona are a big pull and serious favourites in the SBOBET Champions League. And even with many of their top stars rested, the home side made plenty of openings, hitting the woodwork twice.
Highlights of the game
The Spurs’ defence was always going to play a key role in the outcome at the Camp Nou, and Pochettino started with the tried and tested centre-back pairing of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen.
Leo Messi became the first player in history to score ten goals in 13 consecutive La Liga seasons as he helped Barca to beat derby rivals Espanyol last weekend. So the Spurs players were probably delighted to see the maestro start on the substitutes’ bench, with Ernesto Valverde giving his second string a chance.
It was the in-form Ousmane Dembele who struck at the heart of the Spurs’ defence on seven minutes, driving forward before selling Harry Winks a dummy and rolling the ball into the net. It was brilliantly done but just what Spurs feared.
Ex-Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho made a start and unleashed a shot from 20 yards which Hugo Lloris safely gathered.
Spurs began to work their way into the game and just after the half hour, Heung–Min Son had a great chance, one-on-one with Jasper Cillessen. However, the keeper made the block.
Spurs were almost two behind, minutes before the break, when Coutinho’s curling shot bounced off the post.
Spurs fans must have wondered what to think at the break when the Champions League 2018 updates revealed that PSV was ahead in Milan. As things stood, the Lillywhites were through. And that seemed to give the players a boost as they came out for the second half all guns blazing.
First, after a flowing move, Cillissen was forced to make a great save from Christian Eriksen. Then Alli was fed by Eriksen, but his first-time half-volley was blocked before Harry Kane blasted a golden opportunity over the bar.
At the other end, Kyle Walker-Peters made a brave block from a Coutinho effort to keep Spurs in the game. Then Coutinho slid a beautiful ball through to Muni El Haddadi who slotted the ball home, but up went the linesman’s flag as the striker had strayed marginally offside.
The news came through that Inter had equalised which meant Spurs needed a goal, with just 20 minutes to go. To make matters worse, Messi had been brought on to replace Munir, giving the defence plenty to think about.
Tottenham continued to attack and came so, so close to grabbing a goal on 75 minutes. Moussa Sissoko swung a great ball in which Lucas Moura met with a powerful header towards the bottom corner, but Cillessen made a brilliant save as the Spurs fans prepared to celebrate.
The woodwork saved Spurs again as Coutinho looked to have scored, but then, on 85 minutes, Spurs got the goal. Kane drove down the left wing and fired a superb ball in which Moura smashed home to send the 10,000 Spurs fans to their feet.
Barca passed the ball around without threatening again, and Spurs had their point. All they had to do was to wait for the result from Milan to come through, and when it did, there was bedlam in the Spurs end.
What a finish!
Key statistics
The Champions League 2018 odds pointed to a home win, but Spurs took their chance when Valverde rang the changes.
Messi came on for a late cameo, but he couldn’t add to his six goals in the competition or continue Barca’s four-match winning run.
And while Barca rattled the woodwork, Spurs deserved their triumph, winning the shot count by 17 to 14.
What’s next?
There’s a rather different test for Spurs coming up at the weekend when Burnley are the visitors to North London.
The Clarets are starting to look like the team of last year, giving Liverpool a rough ride before battling it out for a win against Brighton. They also grabbed a point away to Spurs last season.
After that, the Lillywhites renew their rivalry with Arsenal, in the Carabao Cup, and that’s a chance to avenge the recent 4-2 defeat to the Gunners.
A trip to Valencia awaits Barcelona as the league leaders head to Levante in the hope of preserving their three-point lead. It won’t be easy as their opponents are unbeaten in four in all competition and up to sixth in the La Liga table.
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