Champions League - Group B
OlympiakosOlympiakos2TottenhamTottenham Hotspur2

Champions League: Olympiakos 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur

By Neil JohnstonBBC Sport
England forward Harry Kane has scored eight goals in eight games for club and country this season
England forward Harry Kane has scored eight goals in eight games for club and country this season

Tottenham threw away a two-goal lead as they were forced to settle for a point in their Champions League Group B opener against Olympiakos in Greece.

Two goals in four first-half minutes put Spurs in control, with Harry Kane opening the scoring from the penalty spot before Lucas Moura's scorching 20-yard finish.

Yet Mauricio Pochettino's side conceded shortly before half-time through impressive Portuguese winger Daniel Podence's quality finish.

That lifted the passionate home crowd and Olympiakos equalised from the game's second penalty, former France forward Mathieu Valbuena beating Hugo Lloris, the current Les Bleus captain, from the spot after Valbuena had been fouled by Jan Vertonghen.

Tottenham's result means both of last season's Champions League finalists have failed to win their opening group games, after holders Liverpool were beaten 2-0 by Napoli in Italy on Tuesday.

In Group B's other game on Wednesday, Bayern Munich beat Red Star Belgrade 3-0 in Germany thanks to goals by Kingsley Coman, Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller.

Sloppy Spurs fail to hang on - again

Pochettino's side showed Herculean spirit to go all the way to the final last season yet were far from their best as they made a shaky return to the competition in the port city of Piraeus.

Having allowed a 2-0 lead to slip against Arsenal in the Premier League on 1 September - again after conceding late at the end of the first half - this is the second time in three games they been left to reflect on what might have been.

With five-time winners Bayern and the unpredictable Red Star, who beat Liverpool last season, also in the group, Pochettino will hope this result does not come back to haunt his side.

Kane won the penalty which led to him breaking the deadlock, the Spurs striker clearly tripped by Tunisia defender Yassine Meriah. Then Moura produced an emphatic finish after Ben Davies marked his return by winning back possession and laying on the pass for the Brazil winger to score an outstanding goal.

On a night of missed opportunities, Kane could have had a hat-trick.

Yet, on two separate occasions, Dele Alli - making his first start of the season - and substitute Erik Lamela decided to go for glory instead of choosing the easier option of squaring to Kane to score.

Lucas Moura celebrates scoring for Tottenham against Olympiakos in the Champions League
Lucas Moura scored five Champions League goals, including a hat-trick against Ajax, as Spurs reached last season's final

Away day trouble for Spurs

Having failed to win any of their first three group games last season, Tottenham know a point in Greece could yet prove critical.

Yet they have won just five of their 17 away games in all competitions this calendar year, including an FA Cup tie at then-League Two club Tranmere Rovers.

Since winning 2-1 at Fulham in the league on 20 January, Spurs have managed just two victories on the road - both in Europe, against Borussia Dortmund and Ajax.

It is something of a worry for Pochettino, who heads straight back to England with his squad to prepare for a Saturday lunchtime game at Leicester City.

It could have been worse for Spurs in Greece.

When the game was goalless and during a slow start by the visitors, Olympiakos hit the post through Miguel Angel Guerrero.

That prompted Pochettino to leap out of his seat and make it known from the sidelines that he was not happy by his side's performance.

His actions had some impact as Spurs raced into a 2-0 lead before being pegged back on a deeply frustrating night.

Man of the match - Daniel Podence (Olympiakos)

Daniel Podence was a real nuisance and scored a goal of the highest quality to launch his side's comeback
Daniel Podence was a real nuisance and scored a goal of the highest quality to launch his side's comeback

Letting it slip - the stats

  • This was the second time that Tottenham have failed to win a Champions League game having been two goals ahead - and the first since drawing 2-2 with Werder Bremen in September 2010.
  • Since the start of last season, Spurs have conceded more goals than any other side in the Champions League (21).
  • Olympiakos are without a win in nine Champions League matches, their longest winless run in the competition.
  • Only Ruud van Nistelrooy (19) and Roberto Soldado (19) scored their first 15 Champions League goals in fewer games than Harry Kane (20).
  • Lucas Moura scored just his second goal from outside the box for Tottenham in all competitions - and his first since August 2018 against Fulham.

What's next?

Tottenham are back in Premier League action at 12:30 BST on Saturday when they are at Leicester City, while their next Champions League Group B game is at home to Bayern Munich on 1 October.

Line-ups

Olympiakos

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1
  • 14Elabdellaoui
  • 3Borges Semedo
  • 20Meriah
  • 21Tsimikas
  • 8dos Santos TorresBooked at 14mins
  • 5Bouchalakis
  • 19MasourasSubstituted forRandjelovicat 78'minutes
  • 28ValbuenaSubstituted forBenziaat 69'minutes
  • 10Podence
  • 9GuerreroSubstituted forEl-Arabiat 89'minutes

Substitutes

  • 4Camara
  • 6Benzia
  • 11El-Arabi
  • 16Allain
  • 34Papadopoulos
  • 35Torosidis
  • 97Randjelovic

Tottenham

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Lloris
  • 6D Sánchez
  • 4Alderweireld
  • 5Vertonghen
  • 33Davies
  • 8WinksBooked at 88mins
  • 28NdombeleSubstituted forSissokoat 62'minutes
  • 27Lucas MouraSubstituted forLamelaat 76'minutes
  • 23Eriksen
  • 20AlliSubstituted forSon Heung-minat 73'minutes
  • 10Kane

Substitutes

  • 7Son Heung-min
  • 11Lamela
  • 12Wanyama
  • 15Dier
  • 16Walker-Peters
  • 17Sissoko
  • 22Gazzaniga
Referee:
Gianluca Rocchi
Attendance:
31,001

Match Stats

Home TeamOlympiakosAway TeamTottenham
Possession
Home44%
Away56%
Shots
Home17
Away10
Shots on Target
Home5
Away5
Corners
Home2
Away4
Fouls
Home10
Away14

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Olympiakos 2, Tottenham Hotspur 2.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Olympiakos 2, Tottenham Hotspur 2.

  3. Post update

    Attempt missed. Rúben Semedo (Olympiakos) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Andreas Bouchalakis following a corner.

  4. Post update

    Corner, Olympiakos. Conceded by Ben Davies.

  5. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Davinson Sánchez.

  6. Post update

    Foul by Davinson Sánchez (Tottenham Hotspur).

  7. Post update

    Yassine Benzia (Olympiakos) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  8. Post update

    Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  9. Post update

    Foul by Youssef El-Arabi (Olympiakos).

  10. Substitution

    Substitution, Olympiakos. Youssef El-Arabi replaces Guerrero.

  11. Booking

    Harry Winks (Tottenham Hotspur) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  12. Post update

    Foul by Harry Winks (Tottenham Hotspur).

  13. Post update

    Lazar Randjelovic (Olympiakos) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  14. Post update

    Offside, Tottenham Hotspur. Son Heung-Min tries a through ball, but Harry Kane is caught offside.

  15. Post update

    Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by José Sá.

  16. Post update

    Attempt saved. Erik Lamela (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the bottom left corner.

  17. Post update

    Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Rúben Semedo.

  18. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Christian Eriksen with a cross.

  19. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Erik Lamela (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Christian Eriksen.

  20. Post update

    Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

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A

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B

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