Tottenham complete dramatic comeback to reach Champions League knockout stages as Kane breaks Del Piero's record
Tottenham qualified for the Champions League knockout stages after a dramatic 4-2 come-from-behind victory over Olympiakos in Jose Mourinho’s first home match in charge.
The 56-year-old replaced the sacked Mauricio Pochettino last week and learnt very quickly about the problems he must overcome at the London club.
Youssef El-Arabi gave the Greek side the lead in the 6th minute punishing a terrible Danny Rose clearance from 25-yards out, before Ruben Semedo tapped in from a yard to double their advantage.
READ MORE: Jose Mourinho: 'I told them to keep calm, keep confident and believe'
Clearly not impressed, Mourinho swapped Eric Dier for Christian Eriksen with only 28 minutes on the clock, before the home side pulled one back on the stroke of half-time through Dele Alli.
Harry Kane pulled the hosts level five minutes after the restart with Mourinho awarding the assist to a quick thinking ballboy whose sharp reactions got play back underway.
Serge Aurier completed Spurs’ superb comeback in the 73rd minute with a fantastic finish, before captain Kane put the result beyond doubt four minutes later. Also becoming the fastest player to score 20 goals in Champions League history.
Mourinho made just the one change ahead of kick off as Danny Rose came in at left-back for the injured Ben Davies.
Olympiakos started brightly on the road and Giorgos Masouras stung the palms of Spurs goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga early with a rising drive from the edge of the area.
In the 6th minute the visitors took the lead. After a poor defensive clearance from Danny Rose, scuffing it straight into the path of Youssef El-Arabi, the striker shifted the ball onto his left and found the bottom corner from 25-yards out.
Spurs came close to drawing level eight minutes later after Son Heung-min flicked on Harry Winks' header, but Jose Sa made a stunning, full stretch stop low to his left to keep the away side in front.
Ruben Semedo made it 2-0 in the 19th minute after more lacklustre defending from the hosts.
Daniel Podence flicked on a corner at the near post and Semedo, with Spurs like statues, applied the easiest of finishes from a yard out.
Mourinho, clearly not impressed by what he had witnessed so far, opted for an early change as he dragged Eric Dier off and Christian Eriksen came on in his place in the 28th minute.
Olympiakos centre-back Yassine Meriah almost added a third as he tried his luck from range, but his effort crept just wide.
Dele Alli pulled one back for Spurs on the brink of half-time and it was a gift of a goal.
Meriah completely missed Serge Aurier's cross into the middle which gave the 23-year-old a simple tap in to make it 2-1.
Tottenham came out flying at the start of the second half and should have been level through Davinson Sanchez, but the centre back headed over from Eriksen’s cross.
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium erupted a few minutes later as Harry Kane restored parity, sweeping in from Lucas Moura's cutback.
The goal came after some quick thinking from a ballboy, who reacted sharply to get the play going for the home side again. Mourinho acknowledged his good work by shaking his hand.
Serge Aurier completed Spurs’ superb comeback in the 73rd minute with a fantastic finish after some outstanding work by Alli before picking out his team-mate at the back post.
An unmarked Kane secured the win and all three points four minutes later, heading home Eriksen’s whipped free-kick into the bottom corner.
The England captain becomes the fastest player to score 20 goals in Champions League history, in just 24 games.
The 4-2 win secures Tottenham second place in Group B of the Champions League and sees them qualify to the knockout stages of the competition with a game to spare.
How to watch exclusive live Premier League football this December. Only on Prime Video.
Featured from our writers:
