Strong Second Half Sends Tottenham Hotspur to Top of Group J

Second Half Surge and Substitutes

In the second half, as Bergwijn came on for Reguilón the shape changed a bit, although it was still Doherty furthest up the pitch of all the wide players. In any case, Spurs were back to their 4-man out of possession, 3-man in possession back line. With the slightly more normal formation came more balance and spacing.

In the first half, Lucas Moura and Gareth Bale were both pinched in too close to Carlos Vinicius. In the second half there was more width across the front and Tottenham were able to benefit. Spurs conceded even a bit more of the possession but were far more incisive with their passing and the pressure was mounting. Finally, for Spurs first goal, all three of the attackers played a part.

Tottenham Take Command

The play started with Lucas Moura doing something we do not see often enough within the Tottenham hold-up play. Moura simply turned off his defender and started attacking goal. Most of the time Spurs play the ball back or sideways and occasionally forward from the hold-up position near midfield. With Lucas turning and attacking on the dribble the defense was caught off-guard and Moura found space.

Given he was in front and heading toward goal, it probably should have been Abdoulaye Seck’s second yellow card, as he fouled Lucas Moura from behind about 30-yards out but only a free kick was given. The free kick was one of those Gareth Bale moments we have been waiting for – almost. Bale struck a beautiful free kick which forced a terrific safe from Beiranvand to help the ball up onto the crossbar from half over the line.

As the Antwerp team was watching the save, Carlos Vinicius was responding to it and quickly stepped up and one-touched the ball into the net for the 1-0 Spurs lead. Vinicius took about two steps after the touch turning and did his version of the Mbappe arms-crossed celebration. The two shots would be the last two touches for Bale and Vinicius as the pair came off after the goal as Harry Kane and Heung-min Son came on.

Substitutes See it Out

Tanguy Ndombele also came on at this time for Harry Winks, as José Mourinho was not about to leave the fate of his team in the Group to chance. While Mourinho could have changed course having scored the goal, he kept moving forward with his plan and the result was Tottenham dominating the game out. While Spurs managed only 1 more goal, a nice finish from Lo Celso off a Harry Kane feed, Tottenham did have more chances.

Heung-Min Son forced two saves in his 30 minutes with two shots within a minute of each other right around 68-69 minutes. Harry Kane had a couple efforts and while neither hit the target, he is going to feel like he should have scored. A few minutes before Kane fed Lo Celso, Giovani hit a near perfect corner kick which Kane won in the box. Unfortunately, and almost inexplicably, the header was a bit off bouncing wide of the goal.

A few minutes later, Harry Kane picked up the ball in space in the middle of the field. As Antwerp were trying harder to press and attack, Kane found space and immediately went toward the goal. Like any good point guard Kane attacked until the defender committed, then dished a soft pass into the path of Lo Celso running on his right.

As Beiranvand came out to try and cut the angle, Lo Celso tucked a nice shot with the outside of his left foot into the far corner. The second goal put Spurs firmly in command and meant they would top the group. Antwerp kept pushing, but it was to no avail as their only shot of the half was a prayer from about 35 yards out that was well off target.

Tottenham have played better but they have also played worse. In the end, it is job done with a professional win and mission accomplished with first place in the Group. Now it is on to the draw and the knock-out stages – with Tottenham having avoided the teams coming from Champions League.