Champions League progress secured after Olympiacos thriller

We might have done it the hard way, but qualification for the Champions League knockout stages was secured on Tuesday evening, as we came from 2-0 down to beat Olympiacos with an unanswered four-goal salvo on Jose Mourinho’s first home game in charge.

It looked a long way back on the night when our Greek visitors raced into a two-goal lead inside the opening 18 minutes thanks to goals from Youssef El Arabi and Ruben Semedo and it seemed that a place in the knockout stages was going to go down to the wire in the final group games on matchday six when we go to Bayern Munich.

But we were given a boost on the stroke of half-time when Dele Alli took full advantage of a dreadful missed clearance by Yassine Meriah to reduce the deficit and we made the most of the opportunity, storming to victory in the second half. Harry Kane levelled the scores when he converted Lucas Moura’s cross, Serge Aurier capped an excellent performance with a stunning right-foot drive to put us ahead and Kane struck again 13 minutes from time to complete the comeback and make it two wins from two under our new Head Coach.

It was the visitors who made the brighter start, just three minutes on the clock when Giorgos Masouras tested Paulo Gazzaniga with a rasping drive from the edge of the area and three minutes later they pushed forward again, El Arabi skipping past a challenge in midfield and letting fly with a 25-yard left-foot shot which beat the diving Gazzaniga to his right. We were struggling to get any control in the contest and looked a little shell-shocked at the early goal, but did go close on 14 minutes when Harry Winks’ free-kick from the left was glanced goalwards at the near post by Heung-Min Son and it was heading in until Jose Sa intervened with a good save to push the ball away.

But any thoughts of an equaliser were extinguished four minutes later. Olympiacos had almost doubled their lead moments earlier when Winks inadvertently put the lively Daniel Podence through on goal but Davinson Sanchez recovered really well to block his shot for a corner. That set-piece was cleared but the visitors won another corner and this time, El Arabi’s little flick sent the ball across the six-yard box where Semedo reacted first to tap home.

In truth, we were second best in most areas of the pitch and the Head Coach reacted to the scoreline and the performance by making an early substitution, replacing Eric Dier with Christian Eriksen. Slowly we started to work our way back into the game and had an opportunity on 41 minutes after Semedo was penalised for a tackle on Son 25 yards from goal. Kane stepped up but put just a little too much air on his effort as it skimmed the top of the net. Then we were given a lifeline with a real gift of a goal just as the clock ticked over to the start of two minutes of stoppage time. Winks slipped a ball down the line to Aurier out on the right flank, his low cross into the middle was completely missed with an air-kick by Meriah and Dele was on hand to poke in from close range.

That changed the complexion of the game and we came out fighting at the start of the second period. Sanchez should have scored three minutes in but Eriksen’s free-kick flew off the defender’s shoulder when he just needed a touch with his head to score, but we were level on 50 minutes. Lucas broke down the right wing and into the area before delivering the perfect cross for Kane to slam past Jose Sa to make it 2-2.

It was a different game now as we looked much more assured in our possession, although the Greek side always carried a threat in attack and we need to be alert and solid to prevent falling behind again. But it was at the other end of the pitch that most of the action was happening, our attacking line causing the visitors plenty of problems without quite carving out the clear-cut chance to take the lead. Eriksen hit a rocket of a free-kick just wide and then the go-ahead goal duly arrived on 73 minutes thanks to great work from Dele, who tricked his way into the box before sending over a deep cross which fell to Aurier and the full-back hit the sweetest of right-foot drives which screamed into the net past the despairing Jose Sa. And just to make sure of the win, four minutes later Eriksen sent over a delicious free-kick from wide on the left, inviting Kane to power a header past the goalkeeper for 4-2.

The win means we will finish second in Group B regardless of the final round of matches as we have a seven-point cushion over Crvena zvezda and Bayern sit five points clear of us at the top.

Key moment

Trailing 2-0 and having produced a below-par performance in the first half, even a draw looked some way off in the distance as the interval approached. But the game turned on a pivotal moment in stoppage time at the end of the opening period. There didn’t seem any danger at all when Aurier’s cross was heading straight to centre-half Meriah, but the Olympiacos man inexplicably completely missed his kick and the ball ran through to Dele who couldn’t believe his good fortune. He tapped home to kick-start the comeback, which we duly finished in style in the second half.

Jose's view

Speaking to Spurs TV after the 4-2 win, Jose said: "The first half was difficult. After that, they showed the other side and the second half, come on, we beat them 3-0 in the second and it could be four, five nil. We dominated totally. That is only possible with quality players but also players with a great mental side and a great desire to do it. The boys are happy that we’ve qualified."

Reaction on Spurs TV

Match data

Goals: Spurs – Dele 45+1, Kane 50,77, Aurier 73; Olympiacos – El Arabi 6, Semedo 18.

Yellow cards: Spurs – Alderweireld; Olympiacos – Semedo, Bouchalakis, Tsimikas, Podence.

Referee: Georgi Kabakov (Bulgaria).

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Weather: Heavy clouds, gentle breeze, 10 degrees.

Attendance: 57,024.