Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Slavia Prague: Thomas Frank’s Spurs boost automatic qualification hopes with win on chaotic UEFA Champions League night

Tottenham Hotspur moved to within touching distance of a place in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds with a 3-0 home win over Slavia Prague on Tuesday evening.

Spurs could have taken the lead inside the opening minute when Richarlison failed to convert a golden opportunity, and the hosts opened up Slavia Prague time and again in a chaotic and end-to-end first half.

But the opening goal, when it came, was courtesy of Slavia Prague defender David Zima, who was unable to react in time when Cristian Romero flicked on a corner, heading the ball into his own net.

The unusually open nature of the game continued after the interval, with the visitors playing a risky man-to-man approach, not to much success. And Tottenham’s relentless attacking opportunities led to two penalties in the second half, as rushed challenges in the box saw Pedro Porro and Xavi Simons felled.

It was the lively Mohammed Kudus who stepped home to slot home the first, with Xavi converting the penalty he won to make it 3-0 on 79 minutes.

Tottenham could, and probably should have scored many more on the night, playing with impressive intent but a lack of cohesion in attack. But the result is what truly matter for Thomas Frank’s side, who are on the verge of securing a spot in the play-off round and are well-placed to push for one of the top-eight spots, with fixtures against German clubs Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt to come in the new year.

Spurs are now unbeaten in each of their last 21 major European home matches (W17 D4), a record that stretches back to a 0-1 defeat against RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League in February 2020. It’s Spurs’ longest unbeaten run at home in Europe in over 40 years.

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Slavia Prague have failed to score in their last 5 games in the UEFA Champions League, their longest-ever run of games without scoring a goal in the competition (since at least 2004/2005).

The Czech club have also failed to win in their last 12 games in the UEFA Champions League, their longest winless streak in the competition.

Glenn Hoddle and Owen Hargreaves have reacted to that win for Spurs, and here’s their take on a strange but entertaining game.

Glenn Hoddle: "Overall I think they deserved the victory, but they came up against something different tonight. Man-for-man all over the pitch. It was a bit strange for some of the players. It took them about 20 minutes to sort out. In the end I think the subs did well when they came on, they were really effective and gave them energy. In the end it's a well-deserved victory and it backs up the win at the weekend."

Owen Hargreaves: "I thought they did OK. I think they did enough, obviously, to win the game. They posed a decent threat but I think keeping a clean sheet, obviously with Vicario, was important. I thought there were a lot of positives, a lot of players got minutes. I thought Kudus was the best player by far. He was exceptional. There were a lot of positives for Tottenham. Overall I think Tottenham will be delighted."

This was an important result for Spurs against a Slavia Prague side who have drawn three but are yet to win in this league phase. Three points mean that the London club still have a chance of making it into the top eight qualification spots, moving into ninth off the back of this result, with fixtures against Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt rounding off their league phase schedule. They will likely have to win both of those games to be in the mix for the top eight, but are now a lot more secure of qualifying for the play-off round. In fact, a five-point buffer means that they would be supremely unlucky not to reach the play-offs from here.

The final whistle goes and Spurs celebrate a win that they richly deserved after a fun night of Champions League action at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

There will be four additional minutes played and Spurs are pushing forward looking for more goals. Tel cuts in from the left and shoots for the far bottom corner, only to be denied by another excellent save from Stanek.

Xavi Simons has been kicked all over the pitch tonight, but he’s been influential too, and helps set up Spence, who stings the palms of the keeper with a decent hit. The rebound falls to Xavi, who has a crack himself but slices his shot wide.

Ogbu and Kolo Muani go shoulder to shoulder, and a final shove sends the Spurs striker tumbling down the bank and into the advertising hordings. The defender apologises.

A deep cross is flicked on and Zafeiris meets it at the back post on the volley. It’s a tight angle but it’s a reasonable chance nonetheless, but he slices his shot wide and shows his frustration, which results in jeers from the home fans.

Slavia Prague whip a deep free-kick into the box and Davies looks to mop up, working the ball back to Vicario. There are plenty of appeals that he turned the ball onto his own hand in the process of doing so, but the referee’s not interested and VAR sees no reason to get involved either.

Xavi Simons squeezes the penalty into the corner after the keeper opted not to move early, but it makes it in and Spurs are three up and cruising here.

"Good penalty," says Joe Hart on co-comms. "Really pleased for Xavi Simons. He's done all the hard work, got all the hard hits. Too much quality, too much power. Three points."

Spurs pour forward again and Bergvall bends the ball into the box. Ogbu dangles out a leg and Xavi Simons makes the most of it, taking the contact and winning a penalty. Ogbu avoids a second yellow, somehow, and Xavi will take the penalty.

Odobert is replaced by fan-favourite Bergvall, who again comes on in an attacking role. It’s interesting to see that Frank seems hesitant to use the Swede in central midfield, perhaps showing the tactical and defensive qualities that are still slightly lacking in the teenager’s game. Sadilek, who was losing his temper all too frequently, is replaced by the visitors.

The game is exceptionally end-to-end still, with Spurs pushing forward looking for more goals and Slavia Prague still intent to play this man-to-man style. They have drawn three of their league phase games so far, and have serious work to do if they are to reach the play-off round.

Kolo Muani comes on for Richarlison and there’s a first Champions League appearance of the season for Ben Davies, who replaces Porro. Davies comes on with instructions for Van de Ven too – not entirely sure what they can be, it looks like a pretty standard back four, with Spence switching to the right side and Davies at left-back.

A sneak dig into the ribs of Vicario riles up the Spurs stopper, who sparks a confrontation. It was a foul and the referee cools things down.

Stanek has been amazing this evening in goal for Slavia Prague and produces a double save to just about keep this game alive as a contest. Tel cuts in from the left and fizzes in a shot, and Sarr is denied on the rebound. Spurs could have five tonight, they probably should have five, but wasteful finishing and excellent goalkeeping means we still have a game on our hands.

Zima, Chaloupek and Chytil are withdrawn, with the first two on bookings, which is a big risk for defenders in this end-to-end game.