Europa League
TottenhamTottenham Hotspur1Partizan BelgradePartizan Belgrade0

Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Partizan Belgrade

By Saj ChowdhuryBBC Sport
Roberto Soldado
Roberto Soldado grapples with one of the pitch intruders

Tottenham secured their place in the Europa League knockout stage with victory over Partizan Belgrade, but their achievement was overshadowed by three first-half pitch intruders.

The match was suspended by the referee for 10 minutes just before the break following the third incident.

Benjamin Stambouli scored a second-half winner when he followed up a Roberto Soldado shot that hit the post.

Soldado also had a close-range shot blocked by goalkeeper Milan Lukac.

It proved another frustrating night in front of goal for Tottenham's Spanish striker. Aside from those two efforts, he also failed to connect with Erik Lamela's teasing ball across the six-yard area.

The 29-year-old's failure to score means it is only two goals in 13 appearances this season, and 13 in total since he signed at the start of last season for £26m.

However, the home crowd recognised that he was one of better Spurs performers on the night by applauding when he came off in the second half - and he played an integral part in the goal.

The 49th-minute breakthrough resulted from the best move of the match. Soldado played a deft one-two with Stambouli before firing a shot against the upright. The French midfielder followed up with a crashing finish past Lukac - his first goal for the club.

Soldado was more accurate when he managed to get hold of one of the three intruders who invaded the White Hart Lane pitch.

The separate incidents happened in the first half, with referee Yevhen Arnovskiy bringing the players off after the third occurrence. Following a brief conference, the players re-emerged to play what remained of the first half.

After the break, Mauricio Pochettino's men were much improved. The early goal lifted them, and Paulinho and Lamela went close with shots from distance, while top scorer Harry Kane, who replaced Soldado, had a free-kick pushed away by Lukac.

Group C's bottom side Partizan troubled their opponents in the first half with efforts from Danko Lazovic and Nikola Ninkovic, although the closest they came was in the closing stages when France keeper Hugo Lloris clawed away Vladimir Volkov's header.

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino:

"Job done. I am pleased for our supporters and the players. We played better than them and deserved the win.

"It's always good when a player scores and especially for Stambouli. I'm happy for him.

"We can now focus on the Premier League. It is important to get the victory and I am happy for our supporters and the players."

Mauricio Pochettino
Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs came into the match needing a win to guarantee their place in the next stage
Roberto Soldado
Roberto Soldado (right) started and had had three good chances in the match
Benjamin Stambouli
But he provided the assist, albeit unintentionally, for Stambouli's goal

Line-ups

Tottenham

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Lloris
  • 16Naughton
  • 6Chiriches
  • 5Vertonghen
  • 33Davies
  • 25StambouliBooked at 51mins
  • 19DembéléSubstituted forBentalebat 56'minutes
  • 7Lennon
  • 8PaulinhoSubstituted forWinksat 87'minutes
  • 11Lamela
  • 9SoldadoSubstituted forKaneat 65'minutes

Substitutes

  • 13Vorm
  • 15Dier
  • 18Kane
  • 23Eriksen
  • 42Bentaleb
  • 44Winks
  • 46Ball

Partizan Belgrade

Formation 4-5-1

  • 25Lukac
  • 30IlicBooked at 86mins
  • 13Cirkovic
  • 6Stankovic
  • 3Volkov
  • 14GrbicBooked at 72mins
  • 22IlicSubstituted forMarinkovicat 74'minutes
  • 21Markovic
  • 11NinkovicSubstituted forZivkovicat 62'minutes
  • 27Lazovic
  • 32SkuleticSubstituted forKojicat 78'minutes

Substitutes

  • 1Zivkovic
  • 5Petrovic
  • 7Luka
  • 9Kojic
  • 10Beko Fofana
  • 17Zivkovic
  • 29Marinkovic
Referee:
Yevgen Aranovsky

Match Stats

Home TeamTottenhamAway TeamPartizan Belgrade
Possession
Home66%
Away34%
Shots
Home19
Away9
Shots on Target
Home6
Away3
Corners
Home8
Away3
Fouls
Home17
Away10

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Tottenham Hotspur 1, Partizan Belgrade 0.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Tottenham Hotspur 1, Partizan Belgrade 0.

  3. Post update

    Offside, Partizan Belgrade. Nenad Marinkovic tries a through ball, but Petar Grbic is caught offside.

  4. Post update

    Attempt missed. Nabil Bentaleb (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Vlad Chiriches with a headed pass following a corner.

  5. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Benjamin Stambouli (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Harry Kane with a cross.

  6. Post update

    Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Milan Lukac.

  7. Post update

    Attempt saved. Erik Lamela (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Harry Winks.

  8. Post update

    Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Lazar Cirkovic.

  9. Post update

    Attempt missed. Erik Lamela (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from the right side of the six yard box misses to the left. Assisted by Benjamin Stambouli following a fast break.

  10. Substitution

    Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Harry Winks replaces Paulinho.

  11. Booking

    Branko Ilic (Partizan Belgrade) is shown the yellow card.

  12. Post update

    Foul by Erik Lamela (Tottenham Hotspur).

  13. Post update

    Branko Ilic (Partizan Belgrade) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  14. Post update

    Attempt missed. Andrija Zivkovic (Partizan Belgrade) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the left following a set piece situation.

  15. Post update

    Attempt saved. Vladimir Volkov (Partizan Belgrade) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Petar Grbic with a cross.

  16. Post update

    Foul by Erik Lamela (Tottenham Hotspur).

  17. Post update

    Vladimir Volkov (Partizan Belgrade) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  18. Post update

    Foul by Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspur).

  19. Post update

    Danko Lazovic (Partizan Belgrade) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  20. Post update

    Offside, Tottenham Hotspur. Aaron Lennon tries a through ball, but Harry Kane is caught offside.

Scores, Results & Fixtures

Thursday 27th November 2014

As It Stood

A

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1B Mgladbach523011479
2Villarreal522113768
3FC Zürich52121011-17
4Apollon Limassol5104416-123

B

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Club Bruges52308179
2Torino52214228
3HJK Helsinki520349-56
4FC Copenhagen511348-44

C

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Tottenham532093611
2Besiktas523010559
3Asteras Tripolis5122710-35
4Partizan Belgrade501419-81

D

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1RB Salzburg5410167913
2Celtic52217708
3Astra Giurgiu5113510-54
4Dinamo Zagreb5104812-43

E

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Dinamo Moscow550083515
2PSV Eindhoven42115417
3Estoril Praia410334-13
4Panathinaikos5014510-51

F

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Inter Milan532062411
2FK Qarabag512235-25
3Saint-Étienne50502205
4Dnipropetrovsk511335-24

G

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Feyenoord53027619
2Sevilla52217528
3HNK Rijeka52127707
4Standard Liege511347-34

H

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Everton5320102811
2Wolfsburg5212111017
3Lille504136-34
4FK Krasnodar5032612-63

I

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Napoli531183510
2Sparta Prague5311114710
3BSC Young Boys530211749
4Slovan Bratislava5005117-160

J

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Dynamo Kyiv5401104612
2Aalborg BK530258-39
3FCSB521211747
4Rio Ave5014310-71

K

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Fiorentina5410102813
2Guingamp52125507
3PAOK Salonika52129547
4Dinamo Minsk5014113-121

L

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Legia Warsaw540152312
2Trabzonspor531184410
3KSC Lokeren521234-17
4Metalist Kharkiv500539-60
View full Europa League tables