Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Royal Antwerp: 5 talking points as Jose Mourinho's men cruise into Round of 32 | UEFA Europa League
Second-half goals from Carlos Vinicius and Giovani Lo Celso gave Tottenham Hotspur a comfortable 2-0 victory at home to Royal Antwerp in the UEFA Europa League.
The north London side had welcomed fans inside their stadium for the first time since March in Sunday's derby victory over Arsenal, and it was more of the same here as 2,000 fans thronged the Tottenham Stadium to see their team cruise into the next round.
While the score-line might suggest otherwise, it was far from a straightforward victory for Spurs, as the visitors came into the game safe in the knowledge that a draw would be enough for them to secure top spot.
The Belgians had a two-point advantage over their hosts heading into this matchday, and their 1-0 first leg victory gave them the superior head-to-head record.
This heavily impacted Ivan Leko's gameplan, and he set his side up in a compact structure that was designed not to lose the game rather than win.
He was helped by the fact that Mourinho stuck his guns by naming his second-team for the Europa League, and the hosts huffed and puffed in vain.
It was not for a lack of effort though, as Tottenham Hotspur tried their utmost to breach the Antwerp backline. However, the visitors remained resolute in sticking to their gameplan.
This saw both sides go into the break level but Jose Mourinho promptly changed things at the break, substituting Sergio Reguilon for Steven Bergwijn to switch back to a 4-3-3 system, having utilized a 3-4-3 formation in the first 45 minutes.
The change in system worked almost instantly as it took just 12 minutes for the home side to break the deadlock after the restart.
Real Madrid loanee Gareth Bale lined up over a free-kick from 30 yards out, and his precisely-struck shot could only be punched onto the crossbar by the Antwerp goalkeeper, allowing Carlos Vinicius to tap it into an empty net.
This proved to be both men's last contributions in the game as they were replaced by Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane just moments later.
The added firepower on the field gave the hosts the impetus to stamp their authority on the game, and they created a host of chances in quick succession.
Son forced Alireza Beiranvand into two good saves in the space of three minutes, while Harry Kane should have scored when he glanced an unmarked header wide from a Lo Celso corner.
Tottenham Hotspur got the goal that their added pressure deserved when Kane played Lo Celso in for the Argentine to score with a smart left-footed finish.
The rest of the game was one-sided traffic as the hosts entered cruise control ahead of their weekend clash with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Here, we shall be having a rundown of five talking points from the fixture.
#5 Tottenham Hotspur secure top spot in Group J
Tottenham Hotspur's 3-3 draw away to Austrian side LASK Linz, as well as Royal Antwerp's 3-1 home win over Ludogreats Razgrad, ensured that both sides secured qualification with one game to spare.
However, there was still the matter of deciding group winners to settle, and it was on this backdrop that this winner-takes-all fixture was played.
When the draws were made, Jose Mourinho insisted that Royal Antwerp were his side's biggest competitors, and this proved to be the case, with their matchday 2 victory giving them the advantage.
The Tottenham Hotspur manager was eager to win the group in order to avoid other group winners like Roma, Bayer Leverkusen, AC Milan, and Napoli.
It is for this reason that he made a raft of changes near the hour-mark to secure the result, and his substitutions made the desired impact to guarantee that Tottenham Hotspur topped their group.
This should ostensibly see them get a more favourable draw in the Round of 32, and all attention can now turn to the Premier League.
#4 Royal Antwerp's tactics backfire
Royal Antwerp came into this clash with a clear gameplan to frustrate Tottenham Hotspur, and this much was evident in the way the visitors' lined up.
For the entirety of the first half, the Belgians had most of their players behind the ball, and this restricted Tottenham Hotspur's creativity and ensured that the hosts did not fashion too many clear-cut chances.
Antwerp themselves were not as interested in scoring as they were in protecting their goal, with just one shot off target fired across the entire 90 minutes.
By contrast, Tottenham Hotspur had 20 shots in the game, with half of those forcing the goalkeeper into a save. However, for almost an hour, it looked like their efforts would be in vain.
Vinicius was on hand to tap home the easiest goal he would score in his career, and the introduction of Tottenham Hotspur's big-hitters on the hour mark ensured that Royal Antwerp left the England capital empty-handed.