Harry Kane was denied a last-gasp winner by VAR as Tottenham had to settle for a point against Sporting in the Champions League after a 1-1 draw in north London.
Three years after leaving Spurs, Marcus Edwards returned to haunt his former club as he struck from outside the box to put the visitors in front in the first-half with a brilliant strike. Tottenham improved significantly after the break and piled on the pressure, eventually getting their reward when Rodrigo Bentancur rose highest from a corner to equalise with ten minutes remaining.
It looked to be the most dramatic of winners when Kane then bundled in from close range in the final minute of stoppage-time, but the wild celebrations turned to fury minutes later as VAR ruled it out for offside. Antonio Conte was sent off for his reaction.
With Eintracht Frankfurt beating Marseille, victory for Spurs would have been enough to confirm them as group winners with a match to spare, but they had to settle for a point that leaves them needing to get a result in Marseille next week.
It was another sluggish start from Spurs as Sporting looked by far the more confident of the two sides. Paulinho could have put the visitors in front when Pedro Porro found him with a wonderful cross, but he could not divert the effort on target.
The goal did come for Sporting though, just a few minutes later, and the hosts should really have known better than to stand off and led Edwards drive towards the box. He gleefully accepted the space on offer, drilling a low strike from distance past Hugo Lloris to make it a perfect return to north London.
Even that did not particularly liven Spurs up, the home fans growing increasingly irate at the lack of urgency on show from their side. A tame shot from Heung-min Son was the best they managed in first-half, as Tottenham were booed off at the break.
From the lowest of bars things improved after the restart, with some much-needed pace injected to Spurs’ play. Son had an effort saved and a flurry of shots inside the box were blocked, as Sporting were pinned back inside their own box and the home fans responded.
Matt Doherty saw his shot saved and Eric Dier flicked a header onto the roof of the net, but the biggest chance came at the other end of the pitch. Flavio Nazinho, seconds after having an effort kept out by Lloris, then fired wide when the Frenchman parried Porro’s drive perfectly into his path, wasting a huge opportunity to double Sporting’s lead.
That was made to look even more costly with ten minutes remaining, when Ivan Perisic whipped the corner in and Bentancur beat the flapping Antonio Adan in the air, the goalkeeper’s hopeful protests for a free-kick waved away as Spurs got themselves level.
Eric Dier had two big headed chances to net the winner against his former club, while Bentancur ballooned a shot over the bar in stoppage-time. Kane then did have the ball in the net as Emerson Royal headed the ball into his path, only to be denied as the offside lines were drawn.
