Ten-man Spurs beat Qarabag in Europa League opener



Tottenham began their Europa League campaign with an impressive victory over Qarabag despite going down to 10 men from the seventh minute.

After a 35-minute delay to kick-off at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium because of travel disruptions, the home side were dealt an early blow when defender Radu Dragusin was shown a straight red card for bringing down Juninho in a one-on-one as the Brazilian raced through on goal.

Despite that, Brennan Johnson had the ball in the back of the net five minutes later when Qarabag were caught playing out from the back and Dominic Solanke placed it into the path of the 23-year-old to slot into the bottom corner.

It was Johnson's third goal in as many games.

Pape Sarr doubled Spurs' lead in the 52nd minute, controlling the loose ball at the far post before smashing home.

Qarabag were awarded a penalty three minutes later when Yves Bissouma brought Elvin Cafarquliyev down, but Toral Bayramov’s spot-kick was poor and pinged off the crossbar.

The Azerbaijan Premier League champions created an abundance of chances, with Guglielmo Vicario making some fine saves, but ultimately Qarabag lacked the cutting edge that Ange Postecoglou's side showed at the other end.

Solanke wrapped up victory in the 68th minute after goalkeeper Mateusz Kochalski pushed Son Heung-min's strike from distance into the striker's path and he produced a confident finish.

Comments