Tottenham Denied By Late Besiktas Penalty In Europa League

Tottenham were denied by a late penalty after Harry Kane had given them a first half lead. It was a fair result but Spurs will be disappointed to have conceded the late equaliser which came following defensive mistakes by Vlad Chiriches.

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Besiktas 1

Scorers: Kane Ba (pen)

Team: Lloris, Dier, Chiriches, Fazio, Davies, Bentaleb, Stambouli (Lennon); Kane, Paulinho (Dembele), Townsend; Soldado (Adebayor) Subs: (unused) Vorm, Kaboul, Naughton, Lamela

Mauricio Pochettino, as in the previous game in the Europa League, made 10 changes to the team which drew with Arsenal on Saturday. Only Hugo Lloris retained his place in the starting eleven. Besiktas had their strongest team on the pitch.

It was a quick start from both teams but Besiktas were the sharper and more threatening led by the former Chelsea striker, Demba Ba who was the focal point for their attack and troubled Spurs all evening.

A poor pass out of defence in the second minute by Vlad Chiriches presented the visitors with their first attempt at goal but the shot went past the post.

In the opening 20 minutes Besiktas were quick to press Spurs who spent much of the time passing the ball around the halfway line without making any forward threat. Besiktas, on the other hand, were quick on the break causing the Spurs defence problems.

In the 11th minute, Ba struck the bar when a cross from the left found him free in the area. Besiktas were quick in the tackle and were confident in their play.

Ben Davies got forward on the left but his cross was poor after 15 minutes. As midfield opened up Spurs had more chance to get forward. On 20 minutes, Ba beat Chiriches on the right to set up a cross but Lloris claimed the ball confidently.

Tottenham took the lead after 26 minutes when Andros Townsend played the ball into Nabil Bentaleb who found Harry Kane in space. Kane took the ball forward past defenders and shot across the goalkeeper from 20 yards to put Spurs ahead in their first meaningful attack and first strike on goal.

Besiktas responded to the set back and from a free-kick, Lloris collected the cross under pressure from Ba. In a quick break after 32 minutes a cross from the right by Besiktas went past Ba but a shot back across goal was kept out by Lloris at full stretch with his foot.

On 35 minutes a cross from Davies was headed over by Kane and with Spurs finishing stronger, Townsend put in a dangerous cross but it was just ahead of Roberto Soldado and Paulinho. A powerful run forward by Benji Stambouli created the chance of a pass to Paulinho but it was cut out.

The second half followed a similar pattern with Besiktas being the more dangerous going forward. There were only occasional glimpses of Spurs going forward but they failed to trouble the visiting goalkeeper. Lloris, again, had to come to their rescue with a number of saves, frequently as a result of mistakes from players in front of him. In the 55th minute, Bentaleb lost the ball in midfield and when Chiriches missed the ball, Lloris did what was required to keep Spurs in the lead.

Pochettino made changes to the team bringing on Mousa Dembele and Aaron Lennon but it made little difference. On one forward run, Dembele was brought down on the edge of the area but the referee waved play on as he did moments after when Kane was bundled over.