Lucas Moura had put the Londoners, trained by star coach Jose Mourinho, in the lead in the 18th minute of the game. After a pass from his compatriot Carlos Vinicius into the penalty area, the Brazilian sank the ball into the net with his right. An own goal by Andres Andrade (27th), who unfortunately deflected a Stangl pass from superstar Gareth Bale, made it 2-0. Son Heung Min (84th) scored for the final score.
Tottenham lead Group J after their first game in front of Royal Antwerp. The Belgians had won the parallel game at Ludogorez Razgrad after falling 2-1 (0-0). Pieter Gerkens equalized after Higinio’s opening goal (46th) in the 63rd minute. Lior Refaelov (70th) scored to win. Rasgrad is in third place in the table before the direct duel against LASK. Antwerp host Tottenham next Thursday (both games at 6:55 p.m.).
Europa League: LASK and Rapid lose, draw for WAC
Three Austrian football clubs were in action in the Europa League on Thursday evening. But there was only a sense of achievement for the WAC. The Carinthians achieved a 1-1 draw against CSKA Moscow. LASK and Rapid lost to the top London clubs.
Guests lost
While there were no surprises at LASK, Mourinho had switched his team to eight positions in the Premier League compared to the 3: 3 against West Ham. As expected, Bale made his starting XI debut, Vinicius stormed in place of star Harry Kane.
“Even the underdog has created surprises,” said LASK coach Dominik Thalhammer, but the game in front of empty stands in the 62,000-meter arena was a bad star for LASK from the start. As early as the fourth minute, midfield routinist James Holland injured himself without outside interference and had to be replaced by Lukas Grgic. Nevertheless, LASK acted bravely as usual, but hardly managed to get through against the defense of the home side. If so, then you were only remotely dangerous by standards.
Tottenham took advantage of the LASK’s offensive spirit, acted stronger in two fights, combined again and again with a lot of speed and technical quality in the last third and made it 1-0 in the 18th minute – Vinicius had played a long ball on Moura, which was in the center Gernot Trauner hurried off and shot in easily. Only nine minutes later it was Reguilon who started the 2-0 with a strong solo up to the sixteenth, from him the ball came to Bale, whose Stanglpass finally steered the slipping Andrade into his own goal.
Long shot from Gruber as a highlight
With the following kick-off, LASK almost caught the 0: 3, Alexander Schlager slipped Eric Lamela’s low shot through under the upper body, but the goalkeeper caught the ball afterwards. To make matters worse, Rene Renner had to make way for Petar Filipovic about ten minutes later (39th), the winger was no longer fully fit minutes earlier after a collision with Emile Höjbjerg.
Towards the end of the first half, LASK gave a sign of life in a blocked attempt by Trauner and a wonderful long-range shot from Andreas Gruber, which Tottenham’s two-man goal Joe Hart defused with a parade (45th), however, and was visibly willing in the second half to to record at least a partial success in north London.
Spurs checked after changing sides
Debutants Johannes Eggestein and Marvin Potzmann came into play after the break, but there were hardly any real scoring chances. After all, Grigic Hart checked from the side from a short distance (53rd), Filipovic headed over the crossbar (66th).
The Spurs continued their controlled game ice cold and had the upper hand again from about the 65th minute. After a good hour, Mourinho had also brought two other well-known kickers with Son and Dele Alli, the 3-0 ultimately seemed only a matter of time. In the 75th minute Schlager scratched the ball off the line, but nine minutes later Son fixed the final score after a soulful chip.
Voices for the game:
Dominik Thalhammer (LASK-Trainer): “In terms of aggressiveness and courage, we didn’t find our way into the game the way we wanted to, we didn’t put the pressure on the ball in the way we wanted. In the second half, however, we were a lot more courageous and did a lot of things well. In the end, you have to say that Tottenham has the highest individual quality. It was a deserved victory for Tottenham. I think the teams we can score against will come. “
Lukas Grgic (LASK midfielder): “In the first half we were a bit too passive against the ball, but in the second half we got a grip on it. The biggest difference is in the individual quality. But I believe that we bravely opposed it. “
Europa League, Group J, first matchday
Thursday:
Tottenham – LASK 3: 0 (2: 0)
London, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, no spectators, SR Al-Hakim (SWE)
Goal sequence:
1: 0 Moura (18.)
2:0 Andrade (27./Eigentor)
3:0 Son (84.)
Tottenham: Hart – Doherty, Sanchez, Davies, Reguilon – Höjbjerg (62./Sissoko), Winks – Bale (62./Son), Lamela (62./Alli), Moura (78./Lo Celso) – Vinicius (86./Clarke)
LASK: Schlager – Wiesinger, Trauner, Andrade (46./Potzmann) – Ranftl, Holland (5./Grgic), Michorl, Renner (39./Filipovic) – Gruber (46./Eggestein), Raguz, Balic (78./Goiginger )
Yellow cards: none or Michorl
The best: Lamela, Reguilon, Moura and Schlager
