Tottenham Hotspur have reached their first-ever Champions League final after booking a date against Premier League rivals Liverpool, and they did it in dramatic fashion.
Take a look at Spurs’ route to the showpiece event in Madrid.
Inter Milan 2-1 Tottenham, 18 September
Spurs were cruising towards victory at San Siro in their opening group game as they led through Christian Eriksen’s strike. However, a late collapse saw the Italian side score two goals through Mauro Icardi and Matias Vecino in the final five minutes to inflict an early defeat on Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
Tottenham 2-4 Barcelona, 2 October
A Barcelona masterclass at Wembley plunged Spurs into dire straits after only two games of Group B. Goals from Phillipe Coutinho and Ivan Rakitic put them into an early two-goal lead before Harry Kane got the hosts back in it. Lionel Messi’s first restored their advantage, and after Erik Lamela had scored another for Spurs, the Argentinian wrapped it up late on.
PSV 2-2 Tottenham, 24 October
Lucas Moura and Kane goals, which overturned Hirving Lozano’s early opener, looked like kick-starting Tottenham’s campaign against the Dutch side. But goalkeeper Hugo Lloris saw red, and Spurs shipped an 87th-minute equaliser to Luuk de Jong to leave them with just one point at the halfway stage of the group.
Tottenham 2-1 PSV, 6 November
For what would not be the last time, Tottenham were minutes from heading out of the competition as they laboured against the Dutch side in the reverse fixture at Wembley. They trailed to another De Jong goal, and were on the brink of elimination, until Kane’s double in the final 12 minutes, the second coming with three minutes remaining, allowed Spurs to live another day.
Tottenham 1-0 Inter Milan, 28 November
This was effectively another shootout for Spurs, as anything other than a win would have been the end of the road, and they found life tough against an Inter Milan side who came for a draw. It was not pretty, but Pochettino’s men found a way through in the 80th minute when Eriksen fired home.
Barcelona 1-1 Tottenham, 12 December
The Europa League was beckoning when Ousmane Dembele sent the Spanish side into an early lead at the Nou Camp. But Moura got into the habit of rescuing his side with an 85th-minute leveller, which proved enough to progress, as Inter could only draw with PSV.
Tottenham 3-0 Borussia Dortmund, 13 February
Son Heung-min’s goal early in the second half put Spurs in front, and they effectively put the tie to bed with a late two-goal blast in the final 10 minutes. Jan Vertonghen made it 2-0 in the 83rd minute and Fernando Llorente added a late third.
Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Tottenham, 5 March
The Bundesliga side produced a first-half onslaught as they tried to rescue the impossible, but thanks to Lloris, Tottenham held firm. Then Kane struck early in the second half to confirm a quarter-final spot.
Tottenham 1-0 Manchester City, 9 April
In the first European game at their new stadium, Spurs made it a night to remember, even though they lost Kane to an injury. Lloris saved an early penalty from Sergio Aguero, and Son Heung-min put the hosts 1-0 up with 12 minutes remaining – a goal that proved crucial.
Manchester City 4-3 Tottenham, 17 April
Rarely has a game seen drama as it unfolded at the Etihad Stadium, where five goals in the first 21 minutes made it 3-3 on aggregate. After Aguero’s fourth goal for City had been cancelled out by a controversial Llorente strike, Spurs were heading through on away goals going deep into injury time. But heartbreak appeared to strike as Raheem Sterling converted for Manchester City to spark amazing scenes of celebration for the hosts to the despair of Spurs. However, in incredible drama, the goal was chalked off by VAR for offside, and the emotions switched with Pochettino’s men progressing.
Tottenham 1-0 Ajax, 30 April
A semi-final against a young Ajax side, who had beaten Real Madrid and Juventus on their way to the last four, was Spurs’ reward for their City success, but the first leg on home soil did not go to plan. An irresistible first-half showing from the Dutch side saw them take a 1-0 aggregate lead home, thanks to Donny van de Beek’s goal.
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham, 8 May
One of the most famous nights in Tottenham’s history unfolded in Amsterdam as they were dead and buried at half-time after goals from Matthijs de Ligt and Hakim Ziyech left them 3-0 down on aggregate. Enter Moura. The Brazilian struck a hat-trick – his third coming in the fifth minute of injury time – to send Spurs through to their first-ever Champions League final.
