Match report as Tottenham put one foot into the Europa League last 16 with a convincing 4-1 win over Wolfsberger in Budapest; Gareth Bale, Heung-Min Son, Lucas Moura and Carlos Vinicius all on target
Friday 19 February 2021 06:03, UK
Tottenham took a giant stride towards booking their place in the Europa League last 16 as Gareth Bale scored during a resounding 4-1 win over Wolfsberger in Budapest.
The last-32 first-leg tie was moved from Austria to Hungary's Puskas Arena due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Heung-Min Son gave Tottenham a 13th-minute lead when he headed in Bale's cross.
Bale's brilliant finish made it 2-0 before the half-hour before Lucas Moura's solo effort extended Spurs' advantage (34).
Michael Liendl gave Wolfsberger hope early in the second half as he scored from the penalty spot after Moussa Sissoko needlessly clattered into Christopher Wernitznig (55).
But a late finish from Carlos Vinicius ensured Tottenham take a three-goal cushion back to London ahead of the second leg next Wednesday.
Including finals, Jose Mourinho has now won each of his last 13 knockout ties in the Europa League and has not lost an away knockout match in the competition since December 2002 with Porto.
Tottenham arrived in Budapest having failed to win any of their previous first-leg knockout ties since beating Inter Milan at White Hart Lane during the 2012/13 season, but they were faced by the lowest-ranked side left in this season's competition.
Wolfsberger, in truth, struggled during a one-sided opening half. Son has often shone in Harry Kane's absence and he did again as he gave Spurs a 13th-minute lead.
A slick move saw Matt Doherty play in Bale and the Wales international picked out Son, who headed into the far corner between the legs of defender Luka Lochoshvili.
This was Wolfsberger's first ever knockout match in major European football, but they fell further behind when Bale doubled Tottenham's lead with a brilliant strike just before the half-hour mark. Doherty again played in the Welshman and he cut back inside onto his left foot, leaving Jonathan Scherzer for dead before lashing his shot into the far corner.
Six minutes later, Moura made it 3-0 with a sublime solo effort. The Brazilian breezed past Sven Sprangler, Lochoshvili and Dominik Baumgartner into the box before firing low into the corner to put Spurs in total command.
Wolfsberger had offered very little, with Hugo Lloris' fine reflex save to claw away Dario Vizinger's header the closest the Austrian side came to finding a route back into the contest - but Ferdinand Feldhofer's side improved after the break.
With Son withdrawn ahead of Sunday's trip to face West Ham, Bale was denied a second when he collected Dele Alli's cute flick but his curled effort was palmed to safety by Alexander Kofler.
Four minutes later, Wolfsberger were handed the chance of reducing the deficit when Sissoko was caught on the ball as Spurs played out from a goal-kick, with referee Ali Palabiyik well-placed to spot a foul on Wernitznig.
Liendl converted his penalty into the bottom corner to breathe life into the contest, and Wolfsberger came within inches of a second when their captain Liendl then turned provider for Wernitznig to fire his shot against the underside of the crossbar with 20 minutes remaining.
Mourinho turned to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Tanguy Ndombele to regain control of midfield and Tottenham's greater depth told in the closing stages as they added a fourth.
Hojbjerg's cross from the right was glanced on by fellow substitute Erik Lamela and Vinicius showed his predatory instincts to divert the ball over the line from close range.
Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho: "We had to come and play with ambition which we did. The score should have been more than 3-0 at half-time.
"In the second half we made that mistake that gave them life. There were some similarities with Everton. If you're in control and make a mistake you give the opposition life and the game can change. In here it didn't change. But the 3-2 was not far from happening.
"We had good control of the game. Lots of chances. I believe the last goal put almost a period on this tie. 4-1 away is a very good result.
"I don't consider this an incredible victory, just a good victory that brings good feelings. But flying back, the plane will be a different plane than after a defeat. Tomorrow morning in training, the same.
"We managed to rest a few players by not playing them 90 minutes - like Sonny only playing 45 minutes at 3-0."
This was a big opportunity for Alli, who was handed his first start since clear-the-air talks with Mourinho, and he took it with an impressive showing in the No 10 position.
A sublime piece of skill almost saw him get on the scoresheet as he nutmegged a defender and got a shot away but goalkeeper Alexander Kofler made a block, with Eric Dier heading the resulting corner over.
Alli may not have got the goal his performance deserved but he showed his class throughout, flicking another ball inside for Bale to go close to a second following the restart.
Tottenham forward Heung-Min Son: "It's a big honour [to play at the Puskas Arena after winning the Puskas award for best goal of the year]. Playing at this stadium - it's massive. It's very special because I won the award for the last year.
"We got the win, that was more important than the special feeling. It's very important we showed from minute one that we wanted to win, not only 1-0 or 2-0. We showed good attitude and scored three goals in the first half. The guys had a really good mindset."
On linking up with Gareth Bale: "I have a really close relationship with him. I'm very happy he's getting game time and scored a goal and got an assist. I really enjoy playing with him."
Tottenham travel to face West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday, live on Sky Sports. Coverage starts at 11am with kick-off at 12pm.
Wolfsberger visit Sturm Graz on Sunday in the Austrian Bundesliga before Spurs host the Europa League round-of-32 second leg on Wednesday at 5pm.
