Tottenham came from behind to defeat Marseille 2-1 on Tuesday to advance to the knockout stages of the Champions League. Goals from Clement Lenglet and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg made it possible.
Spurs thought that a draw in France would be sufficient to advance them, but Chancel Mbemba's potent goal gave them a deficit at the break. However, Lenglet scored off an Ivan Perisic corner just after the break, and Hojbjerg scored in stoppage time to guarantee Spurs' advancement.
With the win, Spurs finish as Group D's top team and advance to the competition's knockout rounds for the first time since 201920. In front of their loud supporters, the hosts got off to a good start as Alexis Sanchez nearly gave them the lead with a header that just missed the post. Hugo Lloris then turned away a fierce drive from the former Arsenal forward.
After being largely pinned back by the hosts, Spurs suffered another setback when Son Heung-min was forced to leave the game due to a head injury. Lloris then had to make another save to stop a Jordan Veretout half-volley.
With a powerful header into the bottom left corner in stoppage time of the first half, Mbemba gave Marseille the lead and gave Lloris no chance due to Spurs' shoddy defending. Spurs came out of the break with a bang, and in the 54th minute Lenglet headed Perisic's superb free-kick delivery into the goal to tie the score.
As the French team battled for a goal that would have advanced them, Amine Harit's long-range shot fizzed just over the crossbar, but Hojbjerg rocked the woodwork at the opposite end.
Despite Hojbjerg's spectacular injury-time strike off the post as Spurs reacted, Sead Kolasinac's late headed miss cost his team a chance to advance as group winners.
WHY DOES THAT MATTER? SPURS OVERCAME A CHALLENGING FIRST HALF.
Marseille deservedly had a lead at halftime. Encouraged by their boisterous home crowd, they had seven shots compared to Spurs' two in the first half, with the English team controlling just 30.5% of the ball.
After the interval, Antonio Conte's team sorely needed to improve, and they undoubtedly did with a strong second-half run that resulted in Lenglet's equalizer. They played a staunch defense before Hojbjerg scored with his right foot to end the match.
LENGLET DEMONSTRATES HIS VALUE ON BOTH SIDES
Although Lenglet's important header to tie the match will garner the majority of the attention, his defensive play may have been equally as strong.
The former Barcelona center-back finished with a team-high four tackles and four clearances, and he also prevailed in six out of eight duels.
SON'S INJURY IS A MAJOR CONCERN.
Tottenham will be happy with their tough win, but it wasn't all good news as star player Son had to leave the game due to a head injury.
The incident will raise concerns about his World Cup availability for South Korea, with their opening match against Uruguay in just 23 days. He was visibly uncomfortable as he was helped off the field.
NEXT, WHAT?
On Sunday, both teams will be back in domestic play, with Marseille taking on Lyon and Spurs hosting Liverpool.
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