Tottenham Hotspur secured a magnificent 3-1 win over Champions League holders Inter Milan at White Hart Lane to go top of Group A on Tuesday.
Rafael Van der Vaart returned from European suspension to play despite being a huge injury doubt and it was he who fired the home side in front against the defending champions. Peter Crouch tucked away the second after more Gareth Bale brilliance against Inter before Samuel Eto’o pulled one back. However, sub Roman Pavlyuchenko sealed the win with a minute to go.
Spurs began on the attack with the visitors keeping an eye on Bale as much as they could after his sensational hat-trick in Milan a fortnight ago. That did not stop Spurs getting the ball to him whenever they could though, although it was Eto’o who had the first real chance when he rammed a 20-yard effort into Carlo Cudicini’s side-netting.
Cudicini started as Heurelho Gomes was suspended following his red card in the 4-3 loss in Italy last time out, and the Italian held an effort from Wesley Sneijder before Van der Vaart had the home fans in the ground on their feet.
Luka Modric was brilliant in the build-up.
The little Croatian had already drawn a save from stand-in Inter goalkeeper Luca Castellazzi when he skipped past Sulley Muntari in the centre and slipped the ball through to the onside Van der Vaart in the area, and his left-footed finish was powerful and clinical.
It could have been two soon after as Bale blazed past Maicon to cross for Crouch, whose first-time effort flew across the goal and wide leaving the player to hold his hands to his head.
Veteran Javier Zanetti then blasted over as Rafael Benitez’s men looked to hit back, while Cudicini was quick off his line to deny Jonathan Biabiany. At the other end Bale sent a right-footed effort high and wide, and a Van der Vaart free-kick from 20 yards deflected behind after Aaron Lennon had been scythed down cynically by Walter Samuel.
Cudicini then denied Sneijder twice before half-time, the first from a rather routine free-kick before a superb dive and stop when the Dutch ace let fly from 25 yards.
The second half began with Jermaine Jenas replacing Van der Vaart, but Spurs were no less an attacking threat as Crouch tried and failed with an overhead kick and Bale was then crowded out by the Inter defence.
The Serie A side were trying to get a proper foothold back in the game, but Maicon’s effort from 25 yards was high, wide and in no way handsome.
Spurs soon regained the momentum and Bale almost scored in audacious fashion after a poor Castellazzi clearance fell to him outside the area and an attempted overhead kick was just wide to the goalkeeper’s left. He then had to save a Crouch header, but could do nothing to deny the England striker as he doubled the Spurs lead just after the hour mark.
Bale, almost inevitably, was at the heart of the goal. The Welshman sped past Inter substitute Nwankwo Obiora on the left and fired in a striker’s dream of a cross for Crouch to side-foot home at the back post.
Moments later he put the ball in the net again after Bale ghosted past Maicon again, but on this occasion the left-sided phenomenon had just taken the ball out of play, with Inter very much on the ropes. Crouch would soon be replaced by Pavlyuchenko though.
Eto’o was always Inter's likeliest provider of a goal and he drew another save from Cudicini before sub Diego Milito flashed an effort across goal and wide.
And Eto’o ensured that the last ten minutes would be nervous for the home side when putting away yet another goal in what has already been such a prolific season. He collected a pass from Sneijder on the left and flew past Alan Hutton before arrowing the ball right-footed with just the right amount of pace beyond Cudicini and into the far corner.
Wilson Palacios was thrown on for Lennon as Redknapp looked to shut up shop but, after a leggy Inter were caught offside a couple of times in search of the equaliser, Spurs had time for one more break as Bale bombed clear on the left and crossed for the unmarked Pavylyuchenko to ram home the killer goal from close range.
That finished off a famous night for the club, who sit on top of the group after four games after a quite brilliant evening in North London.