Tottenham ensured qualification into the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League, after a hard-earned win at Marseille.

Entering the fixture knowing that a draw would be enough to send them through, it was a very negative first 45 minutes from Tottenham. An accurate Chancel Mbemba header late on in the half was a fair conclusion to the action.

The hugely uninspiring first half meant that the continuation of the visitors' season in the competition looked under serious doubt. However, a change in mentality and a significant improvement in performance brought about the crucial equaliser, shortly after the restart.

Clement Lenglet responded to Mbemba's earlier header, with one of his own. Tottenham were level and were able to restrict the wave of Marseille pressure, producing a much more steady second half performance.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was able to summon his remaining energy into a stunning winner, with the last kick of the game. A fantastic show of resilience from Tottenham - they top the group and qualify for the knockout rounds, alongside Eintracht Frankfurt.

Story of the match

After heavy rotation of his team at the weekend, Igor Tudor made just one change from their defeat at Eintracht FrankfurtEric Bailly came into Marseille's three man centre back partnership, in place of Samuel Gigot.

For Tottenham, Clement Lenglet and Ryan Sessegnon started in the places of Cristian Romero and Matt Doherty, from the team which started the dramatic fixture against Sporting, last week.

The visitors started off the evening like a team with no intention of winning the game. Knowing a draw would be enough to put them through, Tottenham invited the non-stop Marseille pressure onto themselves.

In the early stages, a header from Alexis Sanchez and a misplaced Jonathan Clauss cross were strong warning signs for the visitors.

Just before the ten minute mark, an injury to Bailly forced Marseille's only team change to be reversed - Gigot came on to replace him.

That did not have too much of an impact on the hosts' early momentum - their centre backs were not ever significantly tested, anyway. 

Sanchez stung the palms of Hugo Lloris, after a powerful left-footed strike was another product of sustained Marseille domination of the play.

An injury to Heung-min Son seemed destined to further nullify any potential danger coming from Tottenham. The forward was down for a few minutes, following a collision with his head and Mbemba's shoulder. Yves Bissouma was introduced to replace Son, as Cristian Stellini switched Tottenham's system to a 5-3-2.

Tottenham's captain had to be called into action and produce his best save of the half in the 33rd minute. Mbemba's cross from the right side ran through to Jordan Veretout, who unleashed a fizzing effort at goal. Lloris did very well to keep the well-struck strike out.

As the clock ticked closer to the half-time break, the hosts' level of threat only grew larger. The seven minutes of added time - courtesy of Son's injury - yielded a much-deserved opening goal.

Photo by Johnny Fidelin/Icon Sport via Getty Images
Photo by Johnny Fidelin/Icon Sport via Getty Images

A quickly taken corner caught the visitors not well set-up to deal with a Vertout's cross into the box. Mbemba was completely unmarked and had the space to leap up and meet the midfielder's delivery with a powerful, downwards header. The ball bounced up off the turf, into Lloris' bottom corner.

Tottenham had, being frank, got what they deserved after that first-half performance. There was significant need for change, after the interval. A distinct lack of strong attacking options on the bench meant the half-time change was Emerson Royal's introduction, in the place of Sessegnon.

The significant change in match situation - from needing to not concede, to now needing to score - caused a significant change in Tottenham's intent, at the start of the second half.

Harry Kane's involvement in the game picked up significantly. England's forward was close to finding himself at the end of Rodrigo Bentancur's low cross, but Pau Lopez was able to get to the ball just ahead of Kane.

Kane went on to win a free-kick nine minutes into the second half, which led to Spurs' equaliser.

Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images
Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images

Ivan Perisic's cross from the left side allowed Lenglet to produce a perfectly-glanced header, towards the far post. Lopez was left with very little chance to keep out the effort and a significant change in Tottenham's intent brought about the crucial goal.

Expectedly, the equaliser brought about an end to Tottenham's positive start to the second half. However, the subsequent periods of play did not bring about the same siege that Marseille had on the visitors' goal, as they did during the majority of the first half.

Following Lenglet's header, the best chance of the half fell to Kane - he was unable to sort his feet out, after Lopez parried the ball to him, following Emerson's cross. Just two minutes later, Kane had the ball in the back of the net, but Lucas Moura's header found him in an offside position.

Cengiz Under's ambitious attempt at beating Lloris from distance signified Marseille struggling to build up a significant period of attacking momentum. From the backs-to-the-wall first half Tottenham effort, this became a much more controlled and stable defensive performance. 

A fantastic bit of play from the visitors inside of the Marseille box almost sealed knockout round qualification, in the 81st minute. Hojbjerg's first-time strike, after a neat lay-off from Moura, rattled the crossbar.

The hosts swiftly responded with a close-range effort from Sanchez, which was excellently blocked by Perisic for a corner. 

With time running out for the hosts, Sead Kolasinac spurned the best chance of the game. A fantastic, whipped cross from Under set-up the former Arsenal man to all but knock his former North London rivals out of the competition. However, the full-back could not get sufficient contact on his header, which ended up narrowly wide.

Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images
Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

Tottenham were able to ride out the final wave of Marseille pressure and even get a winner themselves. As the hosts pushed forwards, Kane, Hojbjerg and Bryan Gil were all left running at a lone Marseille defender. Hojbjerg was played in by Kane, made his way to the edge of the box and unleashed a powerful strike, which clipped the post on its' way in. 

Player of the match - Clement Lenglet

Photo by Johnny Fidelin/Icon Sport via Getty Images
Photo by Johnny Fidelin/Icon Sport via Getty Images

The centre-back had plenty of work to do, particularly in the first half. He completed a combined total of eight tackles and clearances, throughout the 90 minutes.

Lenglet also won six out of his eight aerial and ground duels. More importantly, his crucial glanced header earned Tottenham a crucial equaliser and set them back on track for qualification. 

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