‘Fantastic’ comeback takes Tottenham into CL last 16

GBNEWS24DESK//

Tottenham Hotspur assistant manager Cristian Stellini called on his side to take inspiration from their second-half display against Marseille after a come-from-behind 2-1 win in France saw them qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League as group winners on Tuesday.

Spurs needed a point to secure a place in next Monday’s draw for the first knockout round and a win to be sure of advancing from Group D in first place, yet they trailed at the interval to a Chancel Mbemba goal at a raucous Velodrome.

However, the Premier League side were transformed after the break as Clement Lenglet headed in a 54th-minute leveller before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg broke away to score a dramatic 95th-minute winner.

That goal saw Tottenham leapfrog Eintracht Frankfurt –- who won 2-1 away to Sporting Lisbon to qualify too –- into first place and condemned Marseille to bottom spot and elimination from Europe altogether.

It was a turnaround that looked unlikely at half-time, after the Premier League side offered next to nothing in the first period and could have trailed by more than one goal without some excellent goalkeeping from Hugo Lloris.

“It was very difficult in the first half but we didn’t lose our minds, we stayed in the match,” said Stellini, who was filling in for suspended manager Antonio Conte.

“It was terrible the goal we conceded because they took a corner quickly and we were not prepared.

“This is an important lesson for the future, but in the second half something changed.

“We talked a lot in the dressing room about the energy we needed in the second half. In the first half we never used energy to press and create difficulties, and they controlled the game well, but in the second half this aspect changed and we played a fantastic second half.”

The latest comeback win follows on from a 3-2 victory at Bournemouth in the Premier League, when they trailed by two goals and saw Rodrigo Bentancur net the deciding goal in stoppage time.

Stellini put the win down to “fitness, personality and energy” and added: “In this type of stadium and this type of match, it is not easy. The stadium was very hot in the first half, but we need to try to play all 90 minutes on the same level.”