Impressive Tottenham defeat Inter Milan at White Hart Lane
Tottenham overcame European champions Inter Milan at White Hart Lane on Tuesday, 2 November, beating Rafael Benitez' team 3–1 after a convincing display.
Harry Redknapp's team, who lost 4–3 to the Italians at the San Siro on 20 October, directed the high-paced game with attacking vigour, backed by another stunning performance by left-back Gareth Bale.
Goals from Rafael van der Vaart and Peter Crouch put the Londoners ahead, while Samuel Eto'o's late strike was cancelled out by substitute Roman Pavlyuchenko.
Spurs take the lead
Eto'o unleashed a strike that flew wide of Carlo Cudicini's right post after being played in by Wesley Sneijder early on. The Cameroonian caused Spurs the most problems in defence, starting his runs either
from the left flank or drifting more towards the centre.
Luka Modric, whose place in the Spurs team has been questioned after van der Vaart's arrival in August, showed exactly why he has started all of Spurs' European games this season in the 18th minute when
he served his supposed rival on a silver platter for the team's first goal.
The Croat advanced towards the top of the Inter box, where he dodged a challenge from Sulley Muntari before sliding a perfect, diagonal ball for van der Vaart to finish to the left of the advancing Luca
Castellazzi, who replaced first-choice keeper Julio Cesar's on the night.
Bale's display begins
It was then Bale's who turned the heat on the Italians, just as he did at the San Siro when his second-half hat-trick nearly cancelled out Inter's 4–0 lead.
The Welshman skipped past Inter's Maicon, arguably the world's best right-back, and delivered a perfect chip for Crouch at the near post, but the striker volleyed wide of the far post from a tight angle.
Sneijder curled a free kick that Cudicini did well to tip over two minutes before the break, and Redknapp will have been a little unnerved when van der Vaart had to be replaced by Jermaine Jenas at half
time.
His worries disappeared on the hour mark, though, as Bale left substitute Nwankwo Obiorah behind on the left side, advanced towards the byline and hit a square cross that Crouch had no problem tapping
in at the far post.
Eto'o's goal only a consolation
Eto'o cut inside of Beniot Assou-Ekotto in the 80th minute, drilling a low drive into Cudicini's far corner to instill some hope of a comeback for the Italians. But with Bale still on the pitch, it wasn't
to be.
In a carbon copy of Spurs' second goal, the 21-year-old hit the ball far ahead of Maicon and bypassed the defender with ease, teeing up Pavlyuchenko at the far post as he had Crouch 20 minutes prior.
The win sees Spurs clinch first place in the group, ahead of Inter on goal difference.
FC Twente are third on five points after Tuesday's victory over Werder Bremen, who are last with two points so far.
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