There have been 67 teams with a single point after three games of the Champions League group stage. Seven have progressed to the last 16. These are Tottenham’s numbers now. They have roughly a one in 10 shot of making the knockouts. How it came to this, who knows?
Lads, it’s Tottenham, as Sir Alex Ferguson famously said. Lads, it’s carnage. They have a way of making things difficult, particularly in Europe this season.
So, Toby Alderweireld gave a goal away when his team-mates were in complete control of the game after 29 minutes and, cruising once more with 11 minutes remaining, Hugo Lloris got sent off. This follows a match against Inter Milan when Tottenham turned a 1-0 lead into a 2-1 deficit in the closing minutes.
Another moment of Champions League recklessness from Hugo Lloris cost Spurs dearly against PSV on Wednesday
Spurs led 2-1 when goalkeeper Lloris was shown a straight red card for a foul which denied PSV a clear scoring opportunity
PSV No 9 Luuk de Jong stung Spurs with a late leveler to leave the Londoners with just one point from three matches
Harry Kane and Lucas Moura had earlier scored for Tottenham as they came from behind only to concede late on
England star Kane ended his four-game goal drought for club and country but Tottenham’s hopes of progress seem dead
Tottenham had fallen behind when PSV’s Hirving Lozano punished an error by former Ajax ace Toby Alderweireld
Alderweireld, who was booed due to his Ajax links, looked dejected after seeing his error punished on the half-hour mark
Spurs appeared to have levelled thanks to another former Ajax defender but Davinson Sanchez saw his goal disallowed
Spurs did manage to equalise before half time though courtesy of a goal by Brazilian winger Lucas Moura after 39 minutes
Kane put Spurs 2-1 up on 55 minutes when his downward header bounced into the net to complete a turnaround in Holland
MATCH FACTS, PLAYER RATINGS AND MATCH ZONE
PSV (4-3-3): Zoet 6; Dumfries 6, Schwaab 6, Viergever 6, Angelino 6; Rosario 7, Pereiro 6.5 (Gakpo 83), Hendrix 6.5; Lozano 7, De Jong 7, Malen 6
Scorers: Lozano 29, De Jong 87
Booked: Angelino, Dumfries
Subs not used: Roon, Isimat-Mirin, Behich, Sainsbury, Ramselaar, Gutierrez
Manager: Mark van Bommel 6.5
TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1): Lloris 5; Trippier 7, Alderweireld 5, Sanchez 6, Davies 5.5; Dembele 7 (Winks 74, 6), Dier 6; Moura 6.5 (Lamela 64, 5), Eriksen 7, Son 6 (Vorm 81); Kane 8
Scorers: Moura 39, Kane 54
Booked: Dembele
Sent off: Lloris
Subs not used: Wanyama, Sissoko, Llorente, Aurier
Manager: Mauricio Pochettino 6
Referee: Slavko Vincic (Slovenia) 5.5
Attendance: 35,000
For more stats and maps check out Sportsmail’s brilliant Match Zone by clicking here.
Tottenham’s first goal came from an intricate passing move which concluded with No 27 Lucas Moura firing home from 12 yards out
Eric Dier covered a lot of ground in midfield, as his heat map shows
Spurs are so much better than this. Alderweireld’s mistake was woeful, but Tottenham had recovered from that. They equalised before half-time, took the lead on 54 minutes and Christian Eriksen was running the match from midfield.
It seemed more a matter of what they would settle for: would they push on for three, try to get four, try to correct the goal difference margins that can get a little skewed when Barcelona are around? Instead, it all went Spursy, And Lloris — a World Cup-winning captain, no less — was the biggest culprit of all.
He’s been erratic this season at the best of times and here was another brainstorm as he hared off his line to thwart Mexico forward Hirving Lozano, when there were two defenders in pursuit.
Lozano knocked the ball past, Lloris took him out and referee Slavko Vincic from Slovenia had little alternative but to award a free-kick and show a red card.
Michel Vorm came on and instantly saved Luuk de Jong’s free-kick low at his far post, but the damage was done. Somehow, PSV were back in the game. Minutes later they were level and Tottenham’s odds were drifting.
Davinson Sanchez headed a dead ball clear and Pablo Rosario scuffed a shot from the edge of the area. It was tame but De Jong got a touch on it, a flick that deceived Vorm. So it all went Luuk de Jong, yet the visitors should have been comfortable.
Mousa Dembele, seen holding off de Jong, started in midfield for Spurs — his second European outing this term
Dembele complained to Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic after being penalised for a foul during the first half in Eindhoven
The referee and Dembele rowed again moments later when a yellow card was shown the the midfielder for persistent fouling
Tottenham were athletically stronger and more ambitious and once they had made good Alderweireld’s horrid error, their eventual victory looked certain.
Eriksen, playing his first game since September 22, simply took charge. He, of course, featured more than once in the 19-pass move that set up the equaliser, but his contribution to the second was exceptional.
A neat interchange of passes with Son Heung-min ended with Eriksen delivering the perfect far-post ball for Harry Kane, who headed it down into the turf past goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet.
At that point, Tottenham looked capable of reaching a more emphatic scoreline. Instead, at best the Europa League beckons without a dramatic dash for the finishing line. This, after all, was what Pochettino described as a must-win game – and he is not a man much given to drama.
No matter their superiority in domestic football, PSV are one of those clubs a team with serious European ambitions should beat. They hadn’t won in any of their last 10 Champions League games coming into this one, and only twice in their last 15 matches against English opposition.
Yet Tottenham are prone to self-destruct and, on 29 minutes, Alderweireld did. The pass from Sanchez was simple enough but Alderweireld dawdled on the ball, allowing Lozano — a pest, if not always an honest one — to pounce and catch him in possession.
Spurs were punished at the other end when Mexico international Lozano scored the opening goal of the game on 30 minutes
Lozano capitalised on an error by centre back Alderweireld who gave the ball away and then deflected a shot into his own net
Alderweireld’s deflection saw the ball loop over keeper and captain Lloris as Lozano scored his ninth goal of the season
Defender Alderweireld sat on the pitch and looked dejected as Lloris retrieved the ball from the net while Eric Dier looked on
Colombian Sanchez looked stunned after putting the ball in the net only to see his effort disallowed controversially for offside
Tottenham were denied an equaliser as Kane was penalised for offside, although it is questionable whether he was interfering
Kane was behind the PSV goalkeeper and stood in the opposite side of the goal to where Sanchez’s low shot was placed
Kane argued with referee Vincic but the goal remained ruled out, leaving visitors Spurs with a lot of work to do in Eindhoven
Lozano sped on goal with Alderweireld in pursuit. He got there, too, but instead of saving his embarrassment, his tackle coincided with Lozano’s shot, sending it looping over Lloris and into the goal.
Tottenham’s equaliser was also a deflection, but at least the move was lovely. A full 19 passes culminated with Eriksen finding Kieran Trippier, who hit the most perfect cutback — first time, obviously — into the path of Lucas Moura. His shot seemed goalbound anyway but, for good measure, clipped Daniel Schwaab and left Zoet no chance.
On the balance of play, it was what Tottenham deserved. They had already had a goal disallowed in controversial circumstances, Kane considered to be interfering after Sanchez had poked in a loose ball following a header by Alderweireld. He certainly looked to be interfering, but so do a lot of players whose position is ignored by the match officials.
In essence, Tottenham controlled the game, but PSV were dangerous in possession and gave regular reminders of their counter-attacking threat. Gaston Pereiro lulled the visitors into a false sense of security with a comically poor free-kick, then almost scored with his next one, curling it just wide of Lloris’ near post. Then, shortly before half-time, the Uruguayan displayed some fast and clever footwork, before striking a shot against the bar.
Tottenham’s best work came, as it often has, from Trippier’s crosses and dead balls. His assist for the equaliser was his 20th for the club, and he could have had more. In the 17th minute, his corner was not cleared successfully and Kane’s shot on the turn was deflected over. From the resulting corner, a Kane header clipped the angle of the bar. It looked merely a matter of time. With Tottenham, however, it is never that simple.
An equaliser arrived moments later and Lucas pointed to the sky after notching his fifth goal since joining Spurs from PSG
Lucas fired home via a deflection to give Spurs a much deserved goal after they had dominated for large spells in the first half
Lucas was congratulated by team-mate Son as they pair exchanged a double high-five on the pitch at the Philips Stadion
Tottenham went ahead 10 minutes into the second half when Kane’s header bounced up off the pitch and into the top corner
Kane wheeled away from the scene to celebrate as PSV’s defenders looked on with disappointment etched on their faces
No 10 Kane acknowledged Tottenham’s away support by pointing towards the travelling fans at Eindhoven’s Philips Stadium
Tottenham goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris left the field little over 10 minutes before the final whistle after being sent off
Keeper Lloris offered some words of encouragement to No 13 Michel Vorm who replaced him in goal for the closing stages
But Dutchman Vorm was beaten as Spurs conceded late on for the third consecutive Champions League match this season