Tottenham Hotspur's UEFA Europa League dreams came to end in the round of 32 after going out to KAA Gent 3-2 on aggregate.
Spurs were the dominate side in the 2-2 draw at Wembley Stadium, however Gent’s effectiveness with their chances was what cost Tottenham, as the Belgian side caught the North London side out twice.
Christen Eriksen opened the scoring in the 9th minute after the Gent defence fell asleep, allowing the playmaker to squeeze in, and slot the ball under Lovre Kalinic, however the Dane’s goal was cancelled out 11 minutes later, when Harry Kane headed the ball into his own net from a Gent corner.
Spurs’ misery continue, as Dele Alli was sent off five minutes before half-time for a terrible high challenge on Brechet Dejaegere. Despite being down a man, Spurs dominated the majority of the second half, and their domination resulted in Victor Wanyama firing the hosts back into the lead.
Despite numerous chances to wrap the tie up and book their place in the next round of the competition, it was their high-line that cost Spurs the tie, as Jeremy Perbet levelled the game with eight minutes to go, to send Tottenham out of Europe.
Spurs striker quick
Eriksen was at the heart of every attack early on, controlling the midfield with his clever movement and intelligent passes, and Kyle Walker caused problems for the Gent defence down the right wing.
It didn’t take long for the early Tottenham pressure to pay off, as Eriksen gave the London club the lead just nine minutes in.
The Danish midfielder managed to squeeze past two Gent defenders after being played in by a fantastic long ball by Eric Dier, and Eriksen coolly slotted the ball under the feet of Kalinic in the one-on-one situation, to give Spurs the lead.
The Spurs assault continued, with both Alli and Walker both taking strikes towards the Gent goal, however their efforts were both well off target, causing no problem for the Buffalo’s keeper.
The Buffalos charge on
It looked as if Spurs would score the second goal of the night, however it was the visitors who were celebrating 20 minutes in.
From a corner, Stefan Mitrovic nodded to head the ball towards the near post towards Harry Kane, however the England international converted the ball into his own net with a terribly timed header, to put the visitors ahead in the leg.
The surprise equaliser threw Tottenham off their perch completely. The North London side looked slower, and more careful in both their attacking and defending, and their opposition were only fuelled by Kane’s own goal.
Slippery Spurs
Spurs’ woes worsened five minutes from time, when Dele Alli was dismissed for a terrible challenge on Dejaegere that saw the Tottenham midfielder flew in studs first into the Belgian midfielder, resulting in a straight red card.
Tottenham looked agitated after the sending off of Alli, as the Premier League side resulted to taking pop shots from distance hoping one would find the target. The defence pushed further up, and Wanyama pushed deeper to cover the holes that were being exploited.
The second half kicked off to a much slower pace o that of the first. Spurs were more patient in their attacks, and they decided to play the ball around the box and look for they key pass rather than drilling the ball in from the wings like they had done for a majority of the first half.
Kane came agonisingly close to redeeming himself for his own goal in the first half, when Eriksen played in the centre forward with a clever chip, but Kane’s effort from close range flew wide of the far post.
Wanyama lifts Wembley
Despite the missed opportunity, it wouldn’t take long for Spurs to have their second goal of the evening, after Wanyama fired Tottenham back into the lead.
After some toying around the penalty area, Walker laid the ball off the Wanyama, and the Kenyan midfielder curled in the ball beautifully into the corner of the net with a fantastic first-time effort, to put Spurs right back into the game.
Game over for Spurs
Although the North London side battled hard, the extra man to Gent proved vital as the Belgian side put the tie to rest with eight minutes through Prebet.
The Buffalos stuck three men up front whenever Spurs were countering, and the tactic worked when Gent were allowed to break from a deep spell of Tottenham pressure.
A four on two counter attack saw the ball roll to Prebet inside the penalty area, and the French striker managed to get enough power on his toe poke to beat Hugo Lloris, and secure Gent’s spot in the last 16 of the Europa League.