Europa League: Tottenham’s unbeaten run ends in thrilling 2-3 loss to Galatasaray
Tottenham Hotspur’s flawless start in the Europa League came to an end on Thursday, as they fell 3-2 to a resilient Galatasaray side.
Harry Kane starred at an empty Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday as he led the Spurs to commendable 2-0 win over West Ham United in English Premier League to keep their hopes for next season’s Champions League spot alive.
Jose Mourinho’s men produced one of their best performances this year and deserved every bit of their first victory since February, especially after their lackadaisical show against Manchester United last weekend.
The game had started on a slow note with the home team adopting a cautious approach against the relegation-threatened West Ham in the initial minutes. Tottenham took time to find the holes in the visitors’ backline before shifting to the offensive mode.
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Spurs’ South Korean international Son Heung-min disturbed the back of the net for the first time with a smart finish at Lukasz Fabianski’s near post. But the home team’s joy was short-lived as the goal was ruled out for offside by a VAR review.
The second half streamed different visuals with Tottenham launching one attack after another and Kane found himself in the heart of the matters. He had no shortage of opportunities as his near post flick was turned behind by Fabianksi before he fired wide after sprinting the full length of the field as Spurs broke dangerously from a West Ham corner.
However, as luck had it for the visitors, after successfully averting the hosts’ vicious approach, they got bitten by one of their own. Tomas Soucek, in his bid to clear a Spurs corner in the 64th minute, unwittingly sent the ball back into his own net.
Desperately, the visitors altered their game plan and tried the shift the course of the play to the other half of the ground. And in doing so West Ham left their defense exposed and gave Kane and Son the smell of blood.
In the 82nd minute, Kane timed his run perfectly from a Son pass before coolly slotting past Fabianski and collapsing to the ground in a mixture of relief and exhaustion.
With PTI inputs
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