Tottenham produced a limp performance in their second Champions League game of the season as Sporting CP scored two late goals to earn all three points on Tuesday night.
The sides were neck and neck in a game of few chances but a late corner saw Paulinho flick in the first before Arthur Gomes ran through the Spurs defence to net a second.
A quick burst from Marcus Edwards saw Sporting go close first as he set up Pedro Goncalves, whose smart effort was tipped wide by Hugo Lloris.
Spurs struggled to create chances during the first half, with a Richarlison header which was comfortably saved being as close as they got. The Brazilian later had the ball in the back of the net, though his finish was ruled out for offside.
It was Edwards who soon brought another good save from Lloris. The former Spurs youngster weaved through the visiting defence in Lionel Messi-esque fashion and combined with Trincao to get the ball back in the area, but his shot was well smothered by Lloris.
Tottenham started the second half much brighter as Emerson Royal brought another save from Antonio Adan with a header from Harry Kane’s cross. He was again denied by the goalkeeper when arriving at the back post from another Kane delivery.
Kane had been denied any major goalscoring opportunities until the 55th minute when his drive from the edge of the box was batted away.
Both sides enjoyed periods of pressure in the final half hour, though gilt-edged chances continue to evade them. An Ivan Perisic cross narrowly avoided contact in the six-yard box for the visitors, while Pote and Trincao had moments of promise go unrewarded for Sporting.
Spurs squandered their attacking opportunities and resorted to tactical fouls to attempt to stop Sporting, but the hosts would not be denied.
Paulinho’s header stole the points and the hosts then added a terrific second moments later as Gomes caught Cristian Romero and Emerson napping to charge into the box and make it 2-0.
The win sees Sporting take control of the group with six points, while Spurs remain on three after the win over Marseille last week.
GK: Hugo Lloris – 7/10 – Kept Spurs level by half time with good saves from Goncalves and Edwards. Made a bunch more stops in the second half but was eventually overwhelmed.
CB: Cristian Romero – 5/10 – Bounded forward to help Spurs create an extra player. Caught out by Sporting for the second.
CB: Eric Dier – 5/10 – Struggled to keep up with Edwards on a few occasions.
CB: Ben Davies – 5/10 – Advanced up the pitch in similar fashion to Romero. Often on the back foot when fronted by Sporting’s nippy attackers.
RM: Emerson Royal – 4/10 – Had a few chances to open the scoring but was denied by Adan. Awful defending for Sporting’s second goal.
CM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 4/10 – Booked for clattering Ugarte. Lack of pace was exposed.
CM: Rodrigo Bentancur – 4/10 – Cynical tackle on Pote brought him a yellow card. Broke up play with a number of challenges but didn’t offer anything creative.
LM: Ivan Perisic – 6/10 – Created some dangerous moments out wide, with one cross just needing a touch from his colleagues.
RF: Richarlison – 5/10 – Had Spurs’ only real chance of the first half which was easily saved. One strike was rightly ruled out for offside. Not creative throughout.
ST: Harry Kane – 4/10 – Quiet and loose in possession, though did set up a few opportunities for Emerson. Touch was heavy in crucial moments and disrupted his side’s attacking momentum.
LF: Son Heung-min – 4/10 – Still overthinking attacking situations that he would have thrived in last season.
SUB: Dejan Kulusevski (72′ for Son) – /10 – Got to the byline and won a free kick seconds after his introduction.
