Tottenham returned to victory by beating Copenhagen in the Champions League.
Tottenham maintained their unbeaten start to the Champions League with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Copenhagen.
Spurs took advantage of two goalkeeping errors from Copenhagen’s Dominik Kotarski to take control of the competition thanks to goals from Brennan Johnson and Wilson Odobert.
Johnson’s second-half red card looked like it could swing the game in Copenhagen’s favor. Instead, it only served as a source of inspiration in the second half for Thomas Frank’s men.
Micky van de Ven put the match beyond doubt with a remarkable end-to-end run capped by a confident finish from Tottenham’s surprise top scorer, before Joao Palhinha made it 4-0 as Spurs, after draws against Bodo/Glimt and Monaco, won their first Champions League since the opening day of the league stage.
With eight points from their opening four games, Tottenham are perfectly placed to progress to the last 16 and are firmly in the race for a top eight place which would propel them straight into the last 16.
Tottenham pounce on Kotarski’s screamers
Tottenham dictated play early on without significantly threatening the Copenhagen goal, but they were gifted in the 20th minute by Kotarski, whose decision to rush out of his goal in an attempt to intercept Xavi Simons’ ball backfired spectacularly, allowing Johnson to roll the ball into an empty net from a tight angle.
Spurs should have put the game to bed in the first half, but Randal Kolo Muani’s profligacy prevented them from doing so.
The on-loan Paris Saint-Germain striker fired narrowly wide of the near post from close range after some neat link-up play between Simons and Odobert, then headed a superb cross from Simons over the bar with the entirety of the goal to go for.
Ultimately, however, his missed chances never threatened punishment, and six minutes into the second half Kolo Muani played a huge role in Spurs doubling their lead.
Once again, Kotarski was at fault as he rushed out of his box to deal with a goalless ball, only to see his clearance charged in by Kolo Muani. The ball flew into the air and Kolo Muani collected it with a sublime touch before allowing Odobert to head home.
Johnson sees red, but Van de Ven seals it in style
Six minutes after Odobert’s goal, Johnson gave Copenhagen a lifeline when his reckless challenge on Marcos Lopez saw him sent off. Johnson was initially booked, but the yellow card was upgraded to a red following a VAR check.
Yet this adversity emboldened Tottenham, and their fearlessness was wonderfully exemplified by Van de Ven, who inexplicably was given the freedom to run almost the entire length of the pitch unchallenged in the 64th minute, with Kotarski unable to prevent him from scoring one of the goals of the season.
Three minutes later Copenhagen were caught out on the counter again, Palhinha’s goal at the far post assisted by Kotarski after Cristian Romero had volleyed in the Portugal international to add further gloss to the scoreline.
Richarlison hit the crossbar with a header and did the same from the penalty spot late on after Dane Scarlett went down in the box late on, but his frustration was just a footnote as Tottenham avoided a third defeat in a row and put last weekend’s miserable loss to Chelsea behind them.
