Travel chaos subjected fans inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to a 35-minute kick-off delay but Spurs and Qarabag more than made up for it in their breathless Europa League opener.
The hosts played 83 minutes of regulation time a man light after Radu Dragusin’s early red card, but goals from Brennan Johnson, Pape Matar Sarr and Dominic Solanke secured them a handsome victory on a night when the Azerbaijani visitors missed countless high-quality chances.
Juninho spurned a first-half sitter and saw a second-half header disallowed for offside, while Toral Bayramov blazed over from the spot.
But with three points in the bag, Tottenham won’t mind one bit as Express Sport takes you through five key talking points from an entertaining night of European action…
Spurs survive huge scare
Ange Postecoglou will have feared the worst when he saw Dragusin haul down Juninho in the seventh minute. The centre-back, on a rare opportunity to stand in for Cristian Romero, was immediately shown a straight red card and sent back to the dressing room.
Dragusin became the first Tottenham player in history to be sent off on their debut in a major European competition. Luckily for him, it did not affect the outcome of the game as Spurs took their chances and Qarabag did not.
Bergvall let down and devastated
Dragusin’s dismissal forced Postecoglou into a very, very early change. And Lucas Bergvall’s face dropped when he looked over to see that he was the one sacrificed for Destiny Udogie on a rare start for his new club.
The 18-year-old has reportedly impressed Spurs coaches since landing at the club this summer, but he has had to sit tight and wait patiently for his chances to shine.
When this one was yanked away from him inside 12 minutes due to Dragusin’s lapse in concentration, he could hardly contain his emotions, and cameras showed him looking crestfallen on the bench during the first half, with his hood up and his jacket zipped to the top.
Anti-Arteta
The world watched on in amazement on Sunday when Mikel Arteta stationed all 10 of his Arsenal players behind the ball in the second half against Manchester City after Leandro Trossard’s red card.
Ange Postecoglou took a decidedly different approach here. Going for the jugular despite being at a numerical disadvantage, Spurs left themselves wide open at the back in their quest to kill the game.
While it was entertaining and, in principle, deserves to be applauded, the scoreline flattered the hosts, and even a hint of competent finishing would have seen Qarabag leave with at least a point.
Solanke on fire
Solanke is off the mark and flying in Tottenham colours. The £65million striker opened his Spurs account against Brentford at the weekend and he followed that up with a brilliant display on Thursday night, picking Julio Romao’s pocket before assisting Brennan Johnson’s opener, and then showing predatory instincts to turn in Tottenham‘s third.
Son injury scare
Midweek commitments can leave squads vulnerable to injury trouble and Spurs may have suffered a painful setback against Qarabag. Son Heung-min was substituted late on and he didn’t look too pleased while leaving the pitch, making him a potential doubt for Sunday’s clash at Manchester United.
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