Marseille v Tottenham player ratings: Mbemba 8, Sanchez 7; Lloris 8, Hojbjerg 7
Marseille #Marseille
Tottenham Hotspur recovered from a woeful first-half display to snatch a 2-1 victory at Marseille and reach the Champions League last-16 as Group D winners.
The North London club, who needed only to avoid defeat to go through, were on the ropes when they trailed to Chancel Mbemba’s header in first-half stoppage time.
However, French central defender Clement Lenglet proved to be Tottenham’s saviour when he headed in his first goal for the club in the 54th minute.
Spurs, who lost forward Son Heung-min to a head injury in a torrid opening period, were a different team after the break and took control after Lenglet’s equaliser.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg struck the crossbar for the visitors but Marseille should have scored late on when Sead Kolasinac somehow missed an open goal with a header.
Hojbjerg then sealed the victory in stoppage time to put Tottenham top of the group and leave Marseille, who at one point in the evening were top, in fourth spot and out of Europe.
“We talked a lot in the dressing room about the energy we needed in the second half,” said Spurs assistant coach Cristian Stellini, in charge with manager Antonio Conte watching from the stands after his red card against Sporting Lisbon.
“In the first half we never used energy to press and create difficulties, and they controlled the game well, but in the second half this aspect changed and we played a fantastic second half.”
In the gallery above you can see the player ratings from Tuesday’s match at the Stade Velodrome. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.