To repeat last season’s European dramatics

over he duly tumbled. If his penalty dispatched into the roof of the net was ill-deserved, nobody could quite believe it when Tottenham doubled their lead four minutes later.

Ben Davies picked out Lucas Moura, the Olympiakos defence backed away and Tottenham’s semi-final hero of last season was back in the act again, drilling a shot inside the near post.

Tottenham could have had the game sewn up before the break but when Dele Alli was unceremoniously upended by Ruben Semedo five minutes before half-time the referee gave a free-kick the other way.

It was just the encouragement the shell-shocked Greeks needed. They had played by far the better football and this time when a neat one-two with Mathieu Valbuena put him clear, Podence was able to steer his shot inside the upright.

Alli was denied a goal after the restart by a very tight VAR offside decision, but the Tottenham jitters continued and a clumsy tackle by Jan Vertonghen on Valbuena just inside the box allowed the Frenchman to pick himself up and put away the penalty.

Having not conceded a twogoal lead since that infamous night at Stamford Bridge in 2016 when Leicester won the league, Tottenham had now done it twice in 17 days.

They tried hard to respond and Alli had a shot saved when a cut-back to Kane would have surely ended in a simple tap-in.

Substitute Erik Lamela nearly squeezed a shot inside the near post and Kane hit the bar, albeit from an offside position.

To be frank, Spurs did not deserve a winner, but as they struggled in the group stages last season maybe they didn’t do too badly here.

But that will be small consolation to fans making their long way back to England after another mixed performance in what is already becoming a bit of a hit-and-miss season.