Tottenham winning this two minutes from time, believe they can still chase down the Italian giants.
It is on for them now. Just.
Beat Inter at Wembley, survive the Nou Camp onslaught and somehow, and Tottenham could still make the last 16. Easy.
Harry Kane has given them a shot at this, scoring twice in a final, stunning 13 minutes.
The performance, the wretched display in front of their own fans, can be pored over another time.
This is all about the goals and the glory.
They were one down after 61 seconds, heading out of the Champions League when Luuk de Jong scored for PSV.
Kane has brought them right back into the mix.
He equalised after 78 minutes and then scored the winner, via a deflection from PSV substitute Trent Sainsbury, a minute from the end of normal time.
It was stirring stuff.
They barely deserved it, but they battle on after clawing their way back against this gritty, determined PSV team.
Spurs had to scrap for this, to overcome the apathy from the 48,000 fans witnessing a bang average performance.
The boos and the jeers bouncing down the empty stands when Mauricio Pochettino hooked Lucas Moura in favour of Erik Lamela after 62 minutes in, is a disturbing sign.
By then they looked like they were out of ideas.
PSV had been so composed.
Mark van Bommel, thug of a player when he was wearing the colours of Barcelona and Holland, has finally fallen in love with the beautiful game.
He is a head coach now, a studious one judging by the way his players stuck wilfully to the gameplan until Kane stirred.
PSV, with nearly 5,000 travelling fans to back them up, took ownership of Wembley.
Tottenham, it seemed, were not welcome in their own temporary home.
To concede with just over a minute on the clock, in a game Spurs really need to win, is a crime at this level.
It was routine stuff, in a daze as they left Gaston Pereiro’s corner to float its way towards the head of de Jong.
He had already lost his man Dele Alli and then towered above Toby Alderweireld to power PSV into the lead.
They wanted it more.
Spurs lacked conviction, the courage to really believe they could bounce back from Champions League disappointment
Those defeats, in the San Siro against Inter Milan on matchday one, against Barcelona back at Wembley, have left some scars.
The healing process has begun.
There was a response, but it was nowhere near the level needed in that baffling first half.
PSV left-back Angelino headed off the line shortly after de Jong’s opener, clearing the decks when Dele sent a header goalbound.
Lucas Moura briefly turned into Ricky Villa, slaloming his way through PSV’s defence as he tried to conjure an equaliser 22 minutes in.
It all felt a little desperate, of a man trying something daring and outrageous because his team-mates were already out of options.
Good on him for trying, for giving it a go, but Spurs looked disjointed, vulnerable and uncomfortable.
Too many star names, men of stature, such as Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Heung-Min Song, did not show up in Spurs colours.
They allowed PSV, on a hot streak in the Eredivisie with 11 straight wins on Dutch, to dictate.
Daniel Schwaab and Nick Viergever, the two men at the heart of PSV’s defence, were both outstanding.
So, too, was right back Denzel Dumfries, only fading when he pulled up lame with cramp with 20 minutes left on the clock.
That PSV defence planted itself on the edge of the penalty area in the second half, soaking up the pressure and trying to play their way out of trouble.
They had a lead to protect, a goal that gives them a shot at bringing Inter back into the mix.
That was supposed to be Tottenham’s plan, winning this one before two big games against Inter and Barcelona.
At times this was the Spurs team Gary Neville talked of, a throwback to an era when this lot had a soft underbelly.
Eventually they found a way through, with substitute Fernando Llorente’s cushioned touched falling nicely into the path of Kane just inside the area.
That was the equaliser and the winner arrived when Ben Davies sent up a cross for Kane to meet with a header.
Kane claimed it, but the last touch came from Sainsbury.
It sure made life taste better.
Source: Read Full Article