It was only a matter of time before Jermain Defoe broke Martin Chivers’ European Goal Scoring record and the striker duly obliged by dispatching a well taken penalty on 67 minutes last night. The scoreline suggests an uncomfortable night and it certainly was at times but impressive displays from Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen in particular sealed the win.
“It was a good second half performance, good combination play, more penetration, more shots, more crosses,” said Head Coach Andre Villas-Boas after the game.
“It’s a pity they scored when we were on top of the game because we could have gone on to score some more.
“We take great satisfaction in qualifying after four games and we’re just one point off top place.”
Meanwhile, Jermain Defoe revealed that a chance half time meeting with a Tottenham legend gave him some inspiration ahead of the second half.
“I saw Martin at half-time and he said ‘keep going, you can do it, you can break the record’ and that calmed me down a bit,” Defoe said.
“It’s crazy how it all happened. I came down the tunnel and he was there, smiling. He wanted me to do it and it’s fantastic. It really means a lot. He’s a legend at this club and to be at the top now, I’m delighted.
“It’s an amazing feeling. It’s not really sunk in yet.”
Spurs are now through to the knockout stage of the Europa League although we haven’t quite claimed top spot as yet. Next up in this competition is the long trek north to face Tromso on the 28th of November.