Tottenham Hotspur opened their Europa League campaign with an entertaining 3-0 win over Qarabag despite playing the majority of the match down to 10 men after Radu Dragusin’s early red card. Brennan Johnson, Pape Matar Saar and Dominic Solanke were on target as Qarabag missed several chances, as well as a second-half penalty, in a chaotic contest.
Kick-off in north London was delayed by almost 40 minutes with visitors Qarabag arriving late to the ground due to traffic in the capital. Spurs then made a sloppy start, with Dragusin sent off in the seventh minute after hauling down Juninho when he lost control of the ball on the half-way line.
But the response from Ange Postecoglou’s side was impressive. Johnson fired his third goal in as many games five minutes after Dragusin’s red card following Solanke’s pass. Tottenham made it safely to half time despite Qarabag threatening an equaliser, and then doubled their lead after the break when Saar volleyed in from a corner.
Qarabag had a golden opportunity to pull one back from the penalty spot but Toral Bayramov blasted it over the bar and Solanke punished the visitors when he tucked in a rebound soon after for Tottenham’s third. The only concern for Postecoglou was the sight of Son Heung-min limping off ahead of Sunday’s trip to Manchester United in the Premier League.
Follow live updates from Tottenham vs Qarabag in our live blog below
