From Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – Tottenham left it late to beat ten-man Marseille on their Champions League return, with Richarlison scoring his first goals for Spurs.
Spurs were blunt for the most part even after Chancel Mbemba’s red card, but their new Brazilian number nine opened his account in lilywhite to secure an early three points.
After a quiet first 20 minutes yielded little in terms of chances, Nuno Tavares let fly from distance, but his effort trickled wide of Hugo Lloris’ net.
Spurs were poor in the opening half hour and were penned in by a Marseille side who weren’t particularly aggressive in their press, with Harry Kane’s blocked shot off of Tavares the closest the hosts came in that time. Kane went closer at the end of a quick breakaway shortly before the break, but his strike rolled well wide.
But the game changed at the start of the second half when Chancel Mbemba, who to that point had been impressive, was sent off after fouling Son Heung-min when through on goal.
Substitute Dejan Kulusevski came close to breaking the deadlock after rounding Tavares and only being thwarted by Pau Lopez at his near post, before the Swede had a shot deflected over by Leo Balerdi.
A failed clearance from Ben Davies nearly let Amine Harit score from close range, but Tottenham just about cleared their lines in time.
But Spurs notched themselves in front with 15 minutes remaining when Ivan Perisic’s delightful cross was thumped in by the head of Richarlison.
Tottenham doubled their lead soon after when Richarlison was highest to reach Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s cross, securing the victory for the hosts.
GK: Hugo Lloris – 5/10 – Strangely flapped at claiming a free ball in the first half when Spurs needed to remain calm.
CB: Cristian Romero – 6/10 – Made a series of blocks to keep Marseille out and was Spurs’ best distributor.
CB: Eric Dier – 4/10 – Guilty of errant passes, clumsy fouls and being caught high up the pitch.
CB: Clement Lenglet – 5/10 – Occasionally pulled out a great long-range ball, but looked nervous in possession.
RM: Emerson Royal – 5/10 – Endured a chaotic battle with Tavares. Made some good runs that weren’t spotted, though his on-ball contributions weren’t amazing anyway.
CM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 6/10 – Offered little protection and was slow to react to loose balls. Grabbed a late assist.
CM: Rodrigo Bentancur – 4/10 – Similarly failed to sniff out danger and was careless in possession.
LM: Ivan Perisic – 7/10 – Was a calm head and defended well, eventually providing an assist.
RF: Richarlison – 9/10 – Off the pace for the most part but came alive when Spurs needed him most with two cracking headers.
LF: Son Heung-min – 5/10 – His touch was loose and he didn’t get his head up as often as he should have. However, his searing pace forced Mbemba into the match-defining foul.
CF: Harry Kane – 5/10 – Tried to link play and get a sight of goal, but this was far from vintage Kane.
Manager: Antonio Conte – 5/10 – Spurs were flat and failed at the basics. The former is probably Conte’s fault but there’s not much he could have done about the latter.
SUB: Dejan Kulusevski (61′ for Emerson) – 6/10
SUB: Ben Davies (73′ for Lenglet) – 6/10
SUB: Japhet Tanganga (73′ for Romero) – 5/10
SUB: Yves Bissouma (86′ for Bentancur) – N/A
SUB: Matt Doherty (86′ for Son) – N/A
GK: Pau Lopez – 4/10 – Critics will suggest the Spaniard should have done a little better for either goal, getting a hand on the first and failing to command his area for the second.
CB: Chancel Mbemba – 3/10 – Had a magnificent first half, but his red card changed the game.
CB: Eric Bailly – 7/10 – Had Kane’s number for the majority of the evening and was unlucky to be on the losing side.
CB: Samuel Gigot – 5/10 – Was usually the victor of his battles with Richarlison, until he lost him for a decisive split-second.
RM: Jonathan Clauss – 5/10 – Went back and forth with Perisic.
CM: Valentin Rongier – 7/10 – Swept up magnificently and was a big reason why Marseille were dominant in the first half.
CM: Jordan Veretout – 5/10 – Kept possession ticking over.
LM: Nuno Tavares – 5/10 – A full-throttle performance at both ends, usually to OM’s detriment.
RF: Gerson – 4/10 – Played on the edge of the game and had little impact. Sacrificed for stability after the red card.
LF: Matteo Guendouzi – 6/10 – Buzzed about all over the pitch, getting booed whenever in possession.
CF: Luis Suarez – 5/10 – Bought some fouls out of Dier.
Manager: Igor Tudor – 5/10 – Marseille started well and he tried his best to react to Mbemba’s dismissal.
SUB: Leo Balerdi (50′ for Gerson) – 4/10
SUB: Sead Kolasinac (70′ for Clauss) – 4/10
SUB: Amine Harit (70′ for Suarez) – 5/10
SUB: Pape Gueye (87′ for Veretout) – N/A
SUB: Cengiz Under (87′ for Gigot) – N/A
