Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday started their UEFA Europa League campaign with a 3-0 win over Qarabag, despite playing more than 80 minutes with 10 men, but Son Heung-min gave the north Londoners an injury scare.
Radu Dragusin’s early dismissal was no obstacle for Ange Postecoglou’s side, who cruised to victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to goals from Brennan Johnson, Pape Sarr and Dominic Solanke.
However, the sight of South Korea forward Son being forced off in the 70th minute would be concerning for Postecoglou, who cannot afford to be without his talismanic captain for a long period.
Photo: Reuters
“He said he was a bit tired, but I haven’t spoken to him or the medical staff yet,” Postecoglou said.
With a healthy Son, the Europa League could offer a path to silverware for Postecoglou, who boasts that he always enjoys success in his second season as he seeks to end a Spurs trophy drought dating back to 2007-2008.
Sterner tests await Tottenham, but they delivered a confident opener, once the game — delayed for 37 minutes after Qarabag were caught in heavy traffic — finally got underway.
“I wasn’t happy as I felt we started really sloppy. It was almost like the delay got to us,” Postecoglou said. “The reaction after the red card was good. We kept pressing high.”
Spurs were not fazed by being reduced to 10 men after just eight minutes when Romania defender Dragusin was sent off for pulling down Juninho as he raced through on goal.
They took the lead in the 12th minute through Johnson’s third goal in his past three games. Qarabag conceded possession cheaply deep inside their own half and Solanke teed up Johnson for a composed finish.
Sarr volleyed Tottenham’s second from close range after Qarabag goalkeeper Mateusz Kochalski made a hash of catching a 52nd-minute corner.
Yves Bissouma’s foul on Elvin Cafarguliyev gave Qarabag a penalty four minutes later, but Toral Bayramov blazed the spot-kick over.
Solanke wrapped up the win in the 68th minute, slotting home to claim his second goal since his club record move from AFC Bournemouth.
Fuming about his team’s transport issues, Qarabag manager Gurban Gurbanov said: “Imagine being caught in traffic for more than two-and-a-half hours. There was no police to escort us. As soon as we arrived, we were told to start in 40 minutes. These things shouldn’t happen.”
Troubled AS Roma were held to a 1-1 draw by Athletic Bilbao after conceding a late equalizer at the Stadio Olimpico.
Roma fans were furious with the club’s decision to sack manager Daniele de Rossi, an iconic figure during his time as a Giallorossi player, just four matches into the season.
Given the unenviable task of replacing De Rossi, Ivan Juric inspired a 3-0 win against Udinese last weekend, but he was denied a second successive victory.
Artem Dovbyk put Roma in front after 32 minutes as the Ukrainian made it three goals in his past three games for his new club with a thumping header from Angelino’s cross, but Aitor Paredes headed Bilbao’s equalizer after Unai Nunez nodded across goal in the 85th minute.
Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce beat Royale Union Saint-Gilloise 2-1 as the Portuguese boss started his bid to win the tournament for the third time.
Mourinho, who won the competition with Manchester United and Porto, watched as Caglar Soyuncu put Fenerbahce ahead in the 26th minute, before Christian Burgess’ 82nd-minute own-goal doubled the lead.
Ross Sykes’ stoppage-time reply for Union came after Franjo Ivanovic missed a penalty for the visitors, who had Kevin Mac Allister sent off.
Ajax thrashed Besiktas 4-0 thanks to Mika Godts’ brace as well as goals from Kian Fitz-Jim and Kenneth Taylor.
Olympiakos, UEFA Europa Conference League winners last season, were beaten 2-0 at Olympique Lyonnais, while Rangers won 2-0 at Malmo.
Eintracht Frankfurt drew 3-3 with Viktoria Plzen, FCSB defeated Rigas 4-1 and Sporting Braga edged Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-1.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
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