Tottenham Hotspur vs CSKA Moscow. UEFA Champions League Group E.
Wembley StadiumAttendance62,034.
Thursday 8 December 2016 11:04, UK
Tottenham ensured they qualified for the Europa League with a comfortable 3-1 win over CSKA Moscow in the Champions League at Wembley.
The result, which should have been even more one-sided considering the chances created, means Spurs finish third in Group E, with CSKA bottom.
Spurs fell behind against the run of play to Alan Dzagoev's 33rd-minute strike but fought back to secure their first win at Wembley at the third time of asking this season.
Dele Alli and Harry Kane replied before half-time and Tottenham finally made sure of the result in the 77th minute when Alli's header was turned into his own net by Igor Afinfeev.
There was another positive for the hosts as Toby Alderweireld made his return from injury as a substitute after two months out.
Spurs will now look ahead to the Europa League draw on Monday, and hope they can build momentum heading into the festive period after a largely positive display against a lacklustre CSKA, who were bidding farewell to head coach Leonid Slutsky.
Having lost both their previous Champions League matches at Wembley this season, Spurs named a strong starting line-up, with the only change from the weekend win over Swansea seeing Harry Winks replacing Mousa Dembele.
While they dominated possession in the early stages, Alli twice missed excellent opportunities; heading wide from the penalty spot and then failing to beat Akinfeev from close range.
Heung-Min Son also saw an effort saved by Akinfeev, whose record run of not having kept a Champions League clean sheet now stretches to 39 successive matches.
The Russia international might have thought that this would be the night as CSKA, despite barely venturing out of their own half, took the lead.
Some slack defending from Spurs saw Dzagoev unmarked as he collected a flick on before firing past Hugo Lloris.
But Spurs responded as Alli atoned for his earlier misses with a composed side-footed finish into the corner after bringing down a cross.
CSKA could have regained their lead when Georgi Milanov was played through, but his shot from just inside the box was saved by Lloris.
A couple of minutes later Spurs went ahead with almost the last move of the half.
The impressive Christian Eriksen chipped a ball over the top for Danny Rose and his low cross was tapped in by Kane from a few yards out.
Spurs continued to dominate after the break, despite sometimes looking shaky at the back on the odd occasion that CSKA did threaten.
The hosts created several chances to extend their lead, with Kane heading over from six yards out and Alli turning a first-time shot over after Alderweireld made his return from the bench.
Fedor Chalov almost levelled with a deflected shot after indecision in the Spurs box, before Akinfeev saved well from Kane's lunging volley.
Spurs finally put the game to bed with 13 minutes remaining when Alli saw a header from six yards out initially saved by Akinfeev, who then kicked the ball into his own net.
Alderweireld twice headed over as Spurs pressed for more goals, but in the end they had to settle for just three.
