Spurs survive scares to seal UEL berth
Leonid Slutsky's last game in charge of CSKA ended in defeat as Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to deservedly seal third spot in Group E.
Tottenham Hotspur put aside its previous Wembley woes by coming from behind to record a 3-1 UEFA Champions League victory over CSKA Moscow and secure a place in the UEFA Europa League.
Both teams came into Thursday's (AEDT) match knowing their hopes of continued participation in Europe's premier club competition were over, but Mauricio Pochettino had insisted Spurs would treat their final Group E fixture with the utmost importance.
That was borne out by the Argentine manager's starting line-up, which showed just one change from Sunday's (AEDT) 5-0 victory over Swansea City in the Premier League, with Harry Winks replacing Mousa Dembele, yet it was CSKA — needing victory to overhaul its opponents — that claimed a 33rd-minute lead against the run of play through Alan Dzagoev.
Dele Alli and Harry Kane ensured Spurs — without a win in their past six outings at Wembley — were deservedly ahead by the break, however, and a home win was sealed by Igor Akinfeev's somewhat bizarre own goal with 13 minutes remaining.
Spurs go into next Monday's draw for the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League, while CSKA will turn its attention to finding a new manager during a three-month mid-season break, having announced on Wednesday (AEDT) this would be Leonid Slutsky's final game in charge.
Amid a low-key atmosphere, Tottenham predictably dominated possession and territory from the outset.
Christian Eriksen and Alli were guilty of spurning the most presentable opportunities in the first half-hour, both shooting tamely at visiting goalkeeper Akinfeev from close range.
Tottenham was punished for its profligacy when Zoran Tosic nodded Bibras Natcho's lofted pass into the path of Dzagoev, who escaped Eric Dier and took a touch before firing a low finish beyond Hugo Lloris.
CSKA's lead proved short-lived as Alli, who had also headed wide early on, provided the opening period's standout moment of quality five minutes later.
The England midfielder brought down a right-wing cross from Eriksen superbly and curled a shot back across goal into the far corner, although Kyle Walker had appeared offside in a scrappy build-up.
Spurs' second goal, which came in first half stoppage-time after CSKA had threatened for a second time on the counter, could also have been ruled out, but the linesman's flag stayed down as Eriksen's chip found Danny Rose in space and the left-back's first-time ball across the face of goal left Kane with a simple finish.
The pattern of play remained largely the same after the interval, with the influential Eriksen involved in much of Tottenham's best work.
A third Spurs goal initially remained elusive, Kane heading over from 10 yards shortly before the crowd was lifted by Toby Alderweireld's return from injury as a 68th-minute replacement for Victor Wanyama, which saw Dier slot into midfield.
However, after Eriksen and Kane had forced further saves from Akinfeev, Tottenham pulled further clear when the CSKA goalkeeper made a fine save from Alli's header, only to then divert the loose ball into his own net with his right foot.
