Tottenham 2-0 Royal Antwerp: Vinicius and Lo Celso help Spurs to top spot in their Europa League group

Spurs gained revenge on Antwerp who beat them 1-0 in the reverse tie in Belgium

<div>LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 10: Giovani Lo Celso of Tottenham Hotspur scores their team's second goal during the UEFA Europa League Group J stage match between Tottenham Hotspur and Royal Antwerp at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 10, 2020 in London, England. A limited number of fans (2000) are welcomed back to stadiums to watch elite football across England. This was following easing of restrictions on spectators in tiers one and two areas only. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)</div><div><br></div>

By Daniel Huggins10 December 2020 21:06 BST

Jose Mourinho's Tottenham side secured top spot in Europa League Group J after goals from Carlos Vinicius and Giovani Lo Celso helped them to a 2-0 victory over second-placed Royal Antwerp.

After a slow start, Spurs got going in front of 2000 spectators not long into the second half, when Vinicius followed up Gareth Bale's spectacular free-kick (57') and Lo Celso tucked home (71') after another assist from substitute Harry Kane.

The Belgian side needed to avoid defeat in order to finish in first place, but will now have to face one of the other seeded qualified sides from the group stages or one of the knocked out sides from the Champions League in the knockout rounds.

Story of the match

The opening stages of the match did not really excite, with both sides struggling to settle and gain an element of control on the game.

There were opportunities for Bale and Vinicius, but shaky goalkeeping from Iranian international Alireza Beiranvand was somehow enough to prevent the home side from taking the lead.

Lo Celso was Spurs' brightest spark throughout the entire game, and he came closest to opening the scoring when Vinicius' intelligent run created space for the Argentinean to test the Antwerp keeper - but his effort lacked the curve to beat him.

Beiranvand then pulled off another big stop, as Lucas Moura's defence splitting pass to Bale allowed the Welshman to get to the byline and cut the ball back, only for the 28-year-old keeper to block it and help push the ball away from danger.

Despite his unconventional style, the man in between the sticks for Antwerp again saved his side with a brilliant save from Vinicius, who will be disappointed he wasn't unable to curl the ball round him as half-time loomed.

Spurs finally broke the deadlock just ten minutes after the restart when an unbelievable free-kick from Bale forced a fantastic save from Beiranvand but Vinicius was first to follow-up and tap the ball into an empty net.

Jose Mourinho was not satisfied after the goal though, and sent on Tanguy Ndombele, Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane - with the latter two both going close to doubling the score not long after being sent on.

Kane did however play a big role in Spurs' second goal, as fellow substitute Moussa Sissoko's tackle in the centre of midfield fell to the England captain who slid in Lo Celso to poke the ball home with the outside of his foot.

Under-pressure centre-back Davinson Sanchez then squandered a huge chance from Son's free-kick, as he found himself completely unmarked with a free header but somehow headed way wide of the mark.

As Spurs began to play the ball in comfort, one final chance did fall to Kane, but the striker's legs gave way at the final moment - not preventing him from getting a shot away, however, but there was not enough conviction on the shot to trouble Beiranvand.

Man of the match - Giovani Lo Celso

There was one man that stood out more than anyone else - and that was Lo Celso.

His energy, direct running and technique consistently caught the eye and gave the Antwerp defenders issues, and his goal capped off an excellent display.

Honourable mentions must go to Lucas Moura, Steven Bergwijn and Japhet Tanganga, who all put in performances to give Jose Mourinho a headache, especially with a number of huge games to come in the next few weeks.