Champions League

TOTTENHAM 3 (Son 20, 36, Kane 28 pen)
EINTRACHT FRANKFURT 2 (Kamada 14, Tuta sent off 59, Alidou 87)

TOP of their group but still not quite at the top of their game, Tottenham sealed a nervy Champions League victory against Eintracht Frankfurt last night (Wednesday).

A lively performance included a Heung-Min Son volley that was one of the forward’s finest finishes in a Spurs career full of exceptional efforts, but manager Antonio Conte admitted he faced a wobbly finale to the match as Frankfurt pulled a goal back towards the end.

Conte, ever the perfectionist, was unhappy with the sloppiness from his side that allowed the visitors to make the score 3-2 with only minutes remaining. It lead to some furrowed brows on the Tottenham bench, and in the stands – and it would have been a travesty if three points had been thrown away.

“Everything is in our hands and it would be a great achievement to qualify,” said the Italian after the final whistle. “But the final part [of the match] has to be a big lesson for us. Everyone thought the game was over but when we missed the penalty I was a bit scared because I thought anything can happen now. It was nearly a disaster.”

For the fans, this was excellent value for money. Spurs started brightly, with Richarlison and Son ploughing forward at speed, Harry Kane dropping deep to link play as and when, Rodrigo Bentancur probing and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg putting in an all-action display that showed off his best assets.

However, the home side still managed to concede early when a sloppy piece of control by the otherwise solid Eric Dier saw Frankfurt win possession, and as the ball squirmed free, Daichi Kamada was in the right place to beat Hugo Lloris.

But Tottenham were not going to dwell on this set back, and as they worked their way through the gears, Frankfurt’s defence could sense they were facing a long night.

The equaliser came on 20 minutes. Son dashed into space centrally, latching on to a Kane through ball. He looked up, took a touch and guided a shot into the bottom corner. Son did not connect with the ball as cleanly as he would have liked – a recurring element of his season so far – but the rub of the green meant he had done just enough.

Spurs were coasting and Kane gave his side the lead on 28 from the spot. The forward had embarked on one of those clumsy but effective runs – chopping this way and that as defenders came to meet him. Kane was knocked to the floor by Kristijan Jakic, and after VAR spotted the foul, referee Carlos del Cerro blew up for a penalty, which the England captain converted.

The match may not have been pretty, but what came next was spectacular. The volley, when executed properly, is surely the most satisfying of techniques – and from the moment the ball was expertly tee’d up into the air by Hojbjerg there was a collective intake of breath across the terraces.

Son tracked the flight with a beautiful combination of instinct and concentration, and when the ball finally dropped the striker had set himself perfectly to power home one of the goals of the season.

Frankfurt were reduced to 10-men just 15 minutes into the second half when Tuta was sent off for two yellow cards in the space of three minutes for fouls on Son. But far from breezing to an easy finish, Tottenham fans had to watch on nervously after the visitors pulled one back in the 87th minute through substitute Faride Alidou.

An anxious finish wasn’t helped late on when Kane smashed a second penalty over the bar after substitute Bryan Gil was dumped to the floor.

Tottenham: Lloris, Romero, Dier (Sanchez, 78), Lenglet, Royal, Bentancur (Bissouma, 67), Hojbjerg (Gil, 67), Sessegnon Richarlison (Skipp, 67), Kane, Son (Moura, 86)
Substitutes not used: Doherty, Perisic, Forster, Spence, Davies, White

Eintracht Frankfurt: Trapp, Tuta, Hasebe (Smolcic, 69), N’Dicka, Jakic, Rode, Sow (Borre, 69), Lenz, Lindstrom, Kamada (Alidou, 70), Muani (Gotze, 78)
Substitutes not used: Hrvoje Faride Santos Alario Chandler Ebimbe Grahl Ramaj