Bale magic, that night in Amsterdam: Spurs’ 10 best European games

Tottenham Hotspur’s only chance of silverware this season is in the Europa League. Having failed to win a trophy since February 2008, going back a further 24 years for their last European trophy, the odds are stacked against them.

Ange postcoglou has endured a dismal season at Spurs. Of course, his cause hasn’t been helped by an injury crisis which has forced him to play certain players out of position throughout the campaign.

This has led to plenty of poor performances as the north Londoners currently occupy 13th place in the Premier League table, way short of expectations.

Unless they win the Europa League, Spurs won’t be playing continental football next season, which will represent a huge blow.

The injury crisis might just buy Postecoglou some time in the dugout, but if results don’t change when he has a full-strength starting XI available, it could cost him his job.

There have been some positive performances this term. The two wins over Manchester City in the space of three weeks were a highlight, along with their impressive European displays which saw the club secure fourth place in the Europa League standings as they won five of their eight fixtures.

After a 1-0 defeat to AZ in the last 16, a big European night under the lights in north London will be needed. Here, we have taken a look at the 10 best European matches in Spurs’ history to offer some inspiration.

10

Tottenham 3-0 Inter

Europa League last-16, first leg (2012/13)

This victory over Inter wasn’t as seismic as the one from their maiden Champions League campaign in 2010/11, but it proved that Spurs could perform at their very best in Europe.

Having finished second in the group stage behind Serie A side Lazio, Spurs progressed to the knockout stages.

An impressive 3-2 aggregate victory over Lyon in the last 32 set up a tie against Inter, and the first leg at White Hart Lane certainly didn’t disappoint.

Goals from Gareth Bale, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jan Vertonghen gave the home side a 3-0 win over the 2010 Champions League winners with one of the club’s finest European results.

They lost the second leg 4-1, but progressed on away goals before losing to Basel in the quarter-finals.

9

Tottenham 2-0 Bayern Munich

UEFA Cup third round, second leg (1983/84)

Having won the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1963 and the UEFA Cup in 1972, Spurs were going for their third European trophy during the 1983/84 season.

The Lilywhites lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich in the first leg of their third-round clash against the Germans, meaning all was to play for in north London.

Steve Archibald levelled the tie with 40 minutes left before Mark Falco netted a late winner, taking Spurs into the quarter-finals.

They reached the final and defeated Anderlecht 4-3 on penalties, marking the last European trophy won by Spurs.

8

Man City 4-3 Tottenham

Champions League quarter-final, second leg (2018/19)

While this may have been a defeat on the night, Spurs’ gritty display at the Etihad saw them qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League in dramatic fashion.

The first leg finished 1-0 in favour of the north Londoners, and was followed by a frantic start to the second leg, as Man City went into half-time leading 3-2, trailing on away goals.

Sergio Aguero finally put City ahead in the tie during the second half, but Fernando Llorente levelled things up on aggregate once more to hand Spurs the advantage.

Entering the final minutes, City were desperately searching for a winner, and it looked as though Raheem Sterling had put the club through with in the last minute, only for VAR to incredibly rule it out as Spurs reached the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time.

7

Milan 0-1 Tottenham

Champions League last-16, first leg (2010/11)

Spurs had enjoyed a wonderful debut season in the Champions League group stages. Not only had they defeated defending champions Inter, but they managed to lose just once on their way to reaching the last 16.

Their reward? A tie against Milan. Harry Redknapp set his team up well at the San Siro that evening as a goal from Peter Crouch secured them a 1-0 victory. The game will be best remembered for the clash between Joe Jordan and Gennaro Gattuso on the touchline.

6

Tottenham 3-1 Inter

Champions League group stage (2010/11)

Earlier in the 2010/11 season, Spurs played host to Inter at White Hart Lane in the Champions League group stages. Gareth Bale had scored a stunning hat-trick in a 4-3 defeat to the same team a few weeks prior, but this was a different story.

Bale was the star of the show yet againbut this time, Spurs won. Goals from Rafael van der Vaart and Peter Crouch gave the home side a two-goal advantage before Samuel Eto’o reduced the arrears with 10 minutes to go.

Bale assisted Roman Pavlyuchenko to seal a wonderful 3-1 win that put the club on the brink of qualifying for the last 16 on a night that seemed to rekindle the famous “Glory Glory” nights in north London.

5

Tottenham 1-1 Anderlecht

UEFA Cup final, second leg (1983/84)

Spurs reached their third UEFA Cup final in 12 years as they took on Anderlecht over two legs.

The first game in Brussels saw the teams draw 1-1, leaving the tie finely poised for the second leg in north London. That game also finished 1-1 thanks to a late goal from captain Graham Roberts and the match drifted into extra time.

No more goals were scored, with Spurs eventually winning the game on penalties to claim their second UEFA Cup.

4

Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Wolves

UEFA Cup final, second leg (1971/72)

The 1971/72 season saw the inaugural edition of the UEFA Cup take place. It became the third competition organised by UEFA and was fairly similar in structure to the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which had been played between 1955 and 1971.

Spurs would go on to play Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final of the competition, and enjoyed a relatively stress-free route to the final, defeating Milan in the semi-finals.

Spurs won the first leg 2-1 at Molineux before sealing their first UEFA Cup by drawing 1-1 with the Old Gold at White Hart Lane in the second leg.

3

Tottenham 5-1 Atletico Madrid

European Cup Winners’ Cup final (1962/63)

During the first half of the 1960s, Spurs were arguably the finest team in England. They became the first club to win the league and FA Cup double in the 20th century during the 1960/61 season, before retaining the FA Cup the following season.

The 1962/63 campaign saw Bill Nicholson’s side fail to win any domestic honours, but they did reach the final of the Cup Winners’ Cup after defeating Rangers, Slovan Bratislava and OFK Beograd to set up a final showdown against holders Atlético Madrid.

The Spanish side weren’t quite up to the level of their city rivals, Real Madrid, but still posed a challenge. However, Nicholson’s side sent them packing with a stunning 5-1 victory.

Captain Danny Blanchflower rallied his side as doubles from Jimmy Greaves and Terry Dyson, plus a strike from John White, secured the club their first European trophy.

In the process, Spurs became the first British side to triumph in a European competition.

2

Tottenham 3-1 Real Madrid

Champions League group stage (2017/18)

Mauricio Pochettino was building something special at Spurs, and the 2017/18 season was their second in the Champions League under his leadership.

They crashed out in the group stages during the 2016/17 season, but the following year was very different indeed.

Despite being in a group containing Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and APOEL, Spurs won five of their six matches, including a wonderful 3-1 win over Madrid.

A brace from Dele Alli and a goal from Christian Eriksen gave the home side a 3-0 lead before Cristiano Ronaldo netted a consolation.

Considering Madrid had won the competition in the previous two seasons – and would go on to secure a historic victory against Liverpool that year – this is arguably one of the best results in Spurs’ history.

1

Ajax 2-3 Tottenham

Champions League semi-final, second leg (2018/19)

The only victory that tops beating the all-conquering Real Madrid is the semi-final second-leg triumph over Ajax during the 2018/19 season.

Spurs lost the first leg 1-0, and when they went two goals down after just 35 minutes in Amsterdam, the tie looked dead and buried.

However, Lucas Moura scored twice in the space of five second-half minutes to give the away side a chance. All they needed was one more goal to reach their first Champions League final.

In the 96th minute, Moura was once again the hero. With seconds left, he latched onto a pass into the box before slotting home a left-footed effort into the bottom corner of the Ajax net, sparking boisterous scenes among the away supporters.

It was a stunning comeback that didn’t look like happening just an hour before. This is certainly the finest European match in the club’s history, without a shadow of a doubt. They lost the final to Liverpool, but supporters will forever remember the semi-final.