Spurs close in on last-16; PSG into knockout stage
BELGRADE (Reuters) – Tottenham Hotspur closed in on a berth in the Champions League knockout stages after two goals from Son Heung-min and one each by Giovani Lo Celso and Christian Eriksen gave it a resounding 4-0 Group B win at Red Star Belgrade late Wednesday night.
The result left Spurs second in the group on seven points from four games, five behind leader Bayern Munich, which sealed a last-16 berth with two games to spare after a 2-0 home win over Olympiakos Piraeus.
Third-place Red Star has three points and Olympiakos one.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino was delighted with his team’s performance in a raucous atmosphere and praised the home fans, whose die-hard end applauded Red Star players off the pitch despite a crushing defeat.
“It’s a difficult place to come to, but we executed the game plan to dominate from the start superbly and I am so happy,” said the Argentine.
“The approach was very good and our positional play in the opposition half was fantastic. We were a bit lucky in the first half because we scored and they didn’t take their chances.
“The atmosphere was great and the home fans were fantastic. Hopefully we will play here again one day.”
Many Red Star fans left the acoustic Rajko Mitic stadium in a hurry before the final whistle, with several hundred visiting Spurs supporters in full swing.
Red Star coach Vladan Milojevic conceded there was a gulf in class between the two teams.
“I can only congratulate Tottenham, they punished us after we squandered some first-half opportunities,” he said.
“We tried to close them down but we got beaten by an outstanding team and though the defeat leaves a bitter taste, it is part of a learning curve.”
Meanwhile, Mauro Icardi was again in the right place at the right time to earn Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 home victory over Club Brugge as the French champion booked its spot in the last-16.
Icardi netted his eighth goal in his last seven games to put PSG on a maximum 12 points in Group A, five ahead of Real Madrid, which thrashed Galatasaray 6-0.
Brugge, who missed a second-half penalty, is third on two points with Galatasaray eliminated on one point.
Now unbeaten in its last 23 group home games in the competition, PSG travels to Real Madrid and the Belgian side faces Galatasaray away in the penultimate round of matches on November 26.
Also, Shakhtar Donetsk scored twice in injury time, the second a penalty converted in the 98th minute, to force a dramatic 3-3 draw away to Dinamo Zagreb after both teams finished with 10 men, while Manchester City was made to wait to book a last-16 place after Atalanta came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw at San Siro.