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Match Analysis: Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Panathinaikos

Match Analysis: Spurs 3-1 Panathinaikos
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Sports Mole analyses Tottenham's 3-1 Europa League win over Panathinaikos at White Hart Lane, which guaranteed the Spurs qualification to the last 32 of the competition.

Tottenham Hotspur secured their place in the Europa League knockout stages with a 3-1 victory over Panathinaikos this evening.

Strike pair Emmanuel Adebayor and Jermain Defoe each scored as Spurs joined Lazio in progressing from Group J.

Their qualification means that four Premier League teams, including Liverpool, Newcastle United and Chelsea, are in the hat for the last 32.

Below, Sports Mole analyses whether the result was a fair reflection of the action at White Hart Lane.

Match statistics

Spurs:
Shots: 11
On target: 5
Possession: 56%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 15

Panathinaikos:
Shots: 7
On target: 3
Possession: 44%
Corners: 1
Fouls: 8

Was the result fair?

Panathinaikos gave Spurs a brief second-half scare but the hosts were well deserving of the win and the qualification that came with it.

Tottenham's performance

This was a seven out of 10 display from the Lillywhites, who weren't at their fluent best but were pretty dominant throughout most of the encounter. Sloppy defending from both Steven Caulker and Kyle Naughton allowed the Greeks a way back into the match, but high-class build-up play and finishing saw Spurs prevail.

Panathinaikos's performance

The Greeks set out to frustrate Tottenham and were happy to sit plenty of men behind the ball and try their luck on the counter. That strategy did not pay dividends until the early stages of the second period, where they nicked a well-created equaliser but overall they did not have enough of the ball in the right positions to cause Spurs sufficient problems.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Clint Dempsey: The American seems to be settling into life at Tottenham after a difficult start following his switch from Fulham. His link-up play is improving vastly and tonight he constantly found space in between the Greeks' midfield and defence which allowed him to create several chances. He assisted Adebayor's opener and then was largely responsible for his side's second. However, his shooting was fairly wayward, which is a shame because the the only thing missing from his display was a goal.

Biggest gaffe

Kyle Naughton got himself in completely the wrong position to deal with Nikos Spyropoulos's cross and let Zeca sneak in behind him to head in past Brad Friedel for the equaliser.

Referee's performance

Nothing to say here - Pawel Gil was barely involved in the action all evening.

What next?

Spurs: A difficult trip, without Gareth Bale, to fellow top-four contenders Everton on Sunday.

Panathinaikos: They host Athens rivals Olympiacos this weekend before a long season during which they will attempt to secure Europa League football again for next campaign.

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Andre Villas-Boas
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Live Commentary: Spurs 3-1 Panathinaikos - as it happened
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