Tottenham kept their Champions League campaign alive thanks to Christian Eriksen’s winner as they beat Inter Milan 1-0 at Wembley.
After defeats in the reverse fixture in Italy and at home to Barcelona, this was a win or bust situation for the north Londoners and they left it late on a nervy night when substitute Eriksen slammed home with 10 minutes remaining.
The result means that Spurs, who go to already qualified Barcelona in the final Group B game, need to match or better Inter's result against PSV to qualify.
On what in theory should be Tottenham's last Champions League game at Wembley before they move into their new ground at White Hart Lane, Spurs controlled proceedings early on.
Erik Lamela and Dele Alli were finding space in the pocket but their long-range finishing was off target. Lucas Moura should have curled Spurs in front on the half hour after a wonderful dummy from Alli but Samir Handanovic dealt comfortably with his effort from 15 yards.
It's over two years since Harry Winks found the net but he went close just before the break with a sweet looping strike that bounced back off the crossbar.
Spurs lost their momentum after the break and did not regain until Eriksen was summoned from the bench. His first touch almost helped opened the scoring but Jan Vertonghen somehow headed wide from four yards out.
Ivan Perisic was then denied from close range by Hugo Lloris before Eriksen took centre stage with the clock ticking down. Moussa Sissoko did the damage down the right wing, bulldozing his way through two challenges and kept his head to find Alli, who set up Eriksen to fire home with his left foot into the roof of the net.
Man of the match: Moussa Sissoko
The Sissoko story continues to dominate the agenda at Spurs - he's gone from zero to hero within a few months. From barely being able to control the ball at times during his Spurs career, he looks a powerful asset these days and was key to everything his team did at Wembley. The match-winning moment finished by Eriksen was all about Sissoko's clever drive and impressive vision.
Manager reaction - Mauricio Pochettino
"The performance was very good. We deserved the victory. We did everything to beat a very good team - a team that is difficult to beat. The players deserve credit. We created the best chances. Now, we are in a positon to us, if we win in Barcelona we are through to the knockout stages."
Opta stats
- Tottenham Hotspur have recorded back-to-back wins in the Champions League for the first time since December 2017 (run of three).
- Following a run of three straight wins, Inter Milan have failed to win any of their last three Champions League matches, drawing one and losing two.
- Inter Milan have now lost on four of their last five visits to England in the Champions League, including back-to-back defeats to Tottenham Hotspur (W1).
- Seven of Tottenham Hotspur's last eight Champions League goals have come in the second half of matches.
- Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Christian Eriksen scored Spurs' first Champions League goal via a substitute since Roman Pavlyuchenko did so back in November 2010, also against Inter Milan.
What's next?
The big games are coming thick and fast for Spurs, who have a trip to Arsenal next up on Super Sunday - in one of three pulsating derby games on Sky Sports on 'Derby Day'.