Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League with a 2-1 win over Moldovan outfit Sheriff Tiraspol at White Hart Lane. Erik Lamela opened the scoring after a goalless first half before winning a penalty which Jermain Defoe converted to become the club's outright leading scorer in Europe. Bulgarian attacker Ismail Isa pulled one back for Sheriff later on, but Andre Villas-Boas's side saw out their fourth group stage victory. Defoe went clear of Martin Chivers, breaking a Tottenham record that had stood for almost 40 years, by netting the winner here. Spurs qualify for the last 32 of Europe's B competition with two games to spare. AVB made nine changes for Sheriff's visit and will now be able to rest key players again in the next fixture away to Russian strugglers Anzhi Makhachkala. Holding midfielder Etienne Capoue returned to the Tottenham team after missing several weeks with an ankle injury alongside Mousa Dembele. Younes Kaboul and Kyle Naughton came into defence. Defoe, Christian Eriksen, Lamela and Gylfi Sigurdsson made up the front four. Only Jan Vertonghen and Kyle Walker remained from the starting XI which began the Premier League no score draw at Everton on Sunday. How did AVB's much changed team fare? Click on next to see our Hotspur player ratings.
Jamie Clark is a qualified Web Journalist after undergoing professional training at the University of Sheffield. A prolific and accredited sports writer, he also enjoys classic comedy, historic fiction, 80s music and heritage.
