Tottenham finally wins at Wembley, through to Europa League

Nevertheless, Mauricio Pochettino chose to field a strong line-up, with the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Victor Wanyama all featuring, while the returning Toby Alderweireld found himself on the bench following his recent injury layoff.

The Russians are bottom of Group E on three points, one behind Tottenham, as the two vie for a place in the Europa League accorded to the third-placed finishers.

The manager has already said that Spurs do not have the “quality” to compete in the Champions League and Premier League, so why would it be any different in the latter stages of the Europa League, where the going gets tough?

“Toby will be involved in the squad tomorrow”.

More importantly than these two wins is the crucial point that Spurs’ top players are playing well again. We will decide then whether he can play on Sunday against Manchester United. Ben Davies remains injured, however, whilst Erik Lamela has now flown home for personal reasons. “It affects your domestic league”, Pochettino said. It is an issue that he needed to go to Argentina. We need to be positive.

Despite the understandable reservations about the effect that Europa League exertions can have on a side’s league campaign, the prospect of a knock-out continental tie under the world-famous arch is an enticing one – even if the showdown will not be in the Champions League, as everyone would originally have hoped.

“In the Premier League we fight to go to the top and we are in a good position”.

Before the match, Pochettino, Vertonghen and Son all insisted Spurs want to be in the competition, but there will undoubtedly be mixed feelings from some at the club, given the schedule’s impact on league form and Pochettino’s reluctance to take it seriously last season. “We know it’s not a Wembley thing and we want to show that to the world”.

“It’s always hard because with Thursday travel, you’re back maybe late on Friday morning, always it’s hard and tough”.

Defeats against Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen in their other group matches at Wembley had played a major role in Tottenham’s exit and contributed to a negative feeling about the stadium among players and fans. This was Christian Eriksen’s best performance of the season, in his new inside-right role.

“We need to look ahead and continue to play more games here to make Wembley our home, that is very important”. Perhaps it’s the size of the pitch, perhaps it’s the fact that Wembley is the national stadium, the home of finals, and it’s daunting for the players and infringes on their mentality.

With both teams having failed to qualify for the knock-out round of Champions League, Tottenham and CSKA Moscow are set to square off during the final group game, which will determine their Europa League fate.