- Tottenham Hotspur hosted Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night
- Both teams needed a win to boost their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages
- Spurs eased past the German side thanks to a Heung-min Son brace at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Son Heung-min scored twice to help Tottenham Hotspur go to the top of Group D with a 3-2 victory over 10-man Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Champions League.
Antonio Conte’s side first went behind to Daichi Kamada at an emotional Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Spurs were playing their first home match since the death of former fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone.
But the hosts responded well with Son scoring either side of a Harry Kane penalty and ran out victors despite late drama that saw Faride Alidou pull one back and Kane miss a second penalty against the Europa League champions, who earlier had Tuta sent off for two yellow cards.
Tottenham move top of Group D following Marseille’s victory over Sporting CP, while Eintracht slip to the bottom of the group.
Tottenham Hotspur forward Heung-min Son celebrates after scoring the equaliser against Eintracht Frankfurt in a UEFA Champions League clash on Wednesday October 12 2022. | PHOTO: SkySports |
Eintracht had won on their two previous visits to London and took a 14th-minute lead when Christopher Lenz robbed Dier of possession inside the Tottenham penalty area, before Kamada slotted Sebastian Rode’s lay-off into an empty net.
Spurs levelled six minutes after that when Kane’s perfectly timed through-ball released Son, who calmly fired home past Kevin Trapp.
Kane completed the turnaround from the penalty spot after VAR ruled Kristijan Jakic felled the England striker in the box.
Son then established breathing space for the hosts with his second goal as he impressively volleyed home Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s pinpoint cross
Harry Kane leads other Tottenham Hotspur players in celebration after scoring from the spot to put his side ahead in the UEFA Champions League clash against Eintracht Frankfurt. | PHOTO: Courtesy |
It took sharp reflexes from Trapp to prevent Son, Cristian Romero and Ryan Sessegnon from increasing Tottenham’s advantage, before the visitors’ misery was compounded on the hour mark when Tuta was shown a second yellow card in as many minutes.
Despite Alidou ensuring a nervy finish when he headed in Mario Gotze’s corner, before Kane fired over a stoppage-time penalty, Spurs held out to move top of the group.
Despite the late drama, Tottenham maintained their impressive home Champions League record, having now won 10 of their last 12 group-stage matches including each of the last four.
Spurs also ended their five-game winless streak against German opposition in this competition, while denying Eintracht a third straight win in London.
After a slow start, Tottenham got back on track with Kane brilliantly setting up Son for the equaliser that sparked the turnaround.
Following that crucial combination, the duo have now assisted one another to score 50 times for Spurs across all competitions, Son assisting Kane 26 times while Kane assisting the South Korean 24 times.
Son played an instrumental role with his double turning the contest on its head.
The South Korea captain, who registered a game-high five shots on target, levelled with a calm finish, before a stunning volley made it 3-1, and he could well have been celebrating a hat-trick but for smart saves by Trapp.
Both sides are at home when they return to domestic action on Saturday. Tottenham welcome Everton in the Premier League aiming to build on this momentum, while Eintracht look to bounce back against Bayer Leverkusen in Bundesliga.
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