Despite playing more than 80 minutes with 10 men, Tottenham defeated Qarabag 3-0 to open their Europa League campaign, but Son Heung-min gave the north London team a scare on Thursday. Ange Postecoglou’s team overcame Radu Dragusin’s early departure at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with goals from Brennan Johnson, Pape Sarr, and Dominic Solanke.
Postecoglou, who can’t afford to be without his lucky captain for an extended amount of time, will be concerned at seeing South Korea forward Son sent off in the 70th minute.
“He said he was a bit tired but I haven’t spoken to him or the medical staff yet,” said Postecoglou.
In an attempt to break the Tottenham trophy drought that dates back to 2008, Postecoglou—who claims he always experiences success in his second season—may be able to win silverware in the Europa League with a healthy Son.
Tottenham still has more testing ahead of them, but they started the game with confidence after it was postponed for 37 minutes due to severe traffic AT Qarabag.
“We felt like we started pretty sloppy, so I wasn’t satisfied. We felt as though the wait had affected us, Postecoglou remarked.
“The reaction after the red card was good. We kept pressing high.”
After just eight minutes, Romanian defender Dragusin was sent off for bringing down Juninho as he was racing through on goal, but Tottenham were unfazed.
Johnson’s third goal in his past three outings gave them the lead in the twelfth minute. Deep in their own half, Qarabag gave over the ball cheaply, and Solanke set Johnson up for a calm finish from ten yards out.
Following a clumsy attempt by Qarabag keeper Mateusz Kochalski to grab a corner in the 52nd minute, Sarr volleyed Tottenham’s second goal from six yards.
Four minutes later, Yves Bissouma fouled Elvin Cafarguliyev, giving Qarabag a penalty kick, but Toral Bayramov blasted it over.
In the 68th minute, Solanke scored his second goal after joining the team record deal from Bournemouth during the off-season, to seal the victory.
Manager of Qarabag Gurban Gurbanov became enraged at his team’s transportation problems, saying:
“Imagine spending more than two and a half hours stuck in traffic. We were not being escorted by cops. “We were advised to get started in
forty minutes as soon as we arrived. These incidents ought not to occur.”
READ ALSO: Ange Postecoglou vs. Erik ten Hag Managerial Head-to-Head Record.
Roma refuted
Athletic Bilbao held troubled Roma to a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico despite the latter netting a late equalizer.
Just four games into the season, Roma supporters were incensed over the club’s recent decision to fire manager Daniele De Rossi, a legendary figure from his days as a Giallorossi player. Ivan Juric, who was handed the difficult task of taking De Rossi’s place, led Udinese to a 3-0 triumph last weekend, but he was not able to win two straight games.
With a powerful header from Angelino’s cross, Artem Dovbyk gave Roma the lead after 32 minutes, making it three goals in his previous three outings for his new team.
However, in the 85th minute, Unai Nunez nodded across goal, setting up Aitor Paredes to head Bilbao’s equalizer.
Union Saint-Gilloise was defeated 2-1 by Jose Mourinho‘s Fenerbahce, marking the beginning of the Portuguese manager’s attempt to win the competition three times in his career.
Mourinho, who won the competition with both Manchester United and Porto, saw Fenerbahce take the lead in the 26th minute thanks to a goal from Caglar Soyuncu, then increase that advantage in the 82nd minute through an own goal by Christian Burgess.
After Kevin Mac Allister was sent off for the visitors and Franjo Ivanovic missed a penalty, Ross Sykes scored Union’s equalizer in stoppage time.
Mika Godts’ brace, along with strikes from Kian Fitz-Jim and Kenneth Taylor, helped Ajax demolish Besiktas 4-0.
Rangers defeated Olympiakos 2-0 at Malmo, while Olympiakos, the previous season’s UEFA Conference League winners, lost 2-0 at Lyon.
READ ALSO: Ange Postecoglou vs. Erik ten Hag Managerial Head-to-Head Record.
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