Son proves the real deal after Wilf ’s wobble

AT TIMES on Wednesday night Tottenham fans had to pinch themselves to check they were not dreaming. Yesterday it was more a ploy to stay awake.

But at the end of the 93 minutes it was job done for Mauricio Pochettino’s Champions League ‘Apprentices’ and move onto the next task. Celebrity fan Lord Sugar had tweeted, “This is the kind of game we slip up” before kick-off, and in the past he would have had a point.

However, while Tottenham were far from fired up after their exploits against Real Madrid, nor was there a need for anybody to be fired thanks to Son Heung-Min’s sublime winning goal in the 64th minute.

The moment the final whistle blew on the 3-1 win over the 12-times European champions, Pochettino insisted his focus was straight away on this clash with a team they were expected to beat but which, as Chelsea had already found to their cost, could catch you if you were not on your game.

“We knew it would be a massive challenge for us to be ready again and fresh after Real Madrid,” he said. “But I am very pleased. The result was fantastic even if it wasn’t our best performance. We were very professional and we fought.”

Spurs’ challenge had become more and more convoluted and contrived than anything Lord Sugar has ever dreamed up for any of his candidates.

They had to beat Palace without captain Hugo Lloris, ruled out immediately after Madrid with a hamstring problem. Dele Alli followed suit due to a soreness in his tendons. Then, on the eve of the game, substitute goalkeeper Michel Vorm twisted his knee in training.

Cue a return to Premier League action for third-choice former Southampton goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga after nearly two years’ absence in a comeback that could have been ended after just three minutes.

A clumsy slap across the chops of Mamadou Sakho in the penalty area perhaps should have resulted in a penalty and could even have meant a red card if referee Kevin Friend saw any malicious intent. Luckily