Tottenham Hotspur are facing a make-or-break Champions League clash with Marseille on Tuesday.
Antonio Conte's team take on the Ligue 1 side at the Stade Velodrome in France with their Group D fortunes on a knife edge.
They currently sit top of the group with eight points, one ahead of Sporting Lisbon and Eintracht Frankfurt, with Marseille bottom on six points – but OM can leapfrog Spurs in they defeat the North London club.
Tottenham would already have sealed their place in the knockout stages if they had beaten Sporting Lisbon last time out, but were held to a 1-1 draw at home by the Portuguese club .
That match saw Conte shown a red card that means he is banned from the touchline on Tuesday, after the Italian coach protested too vociferously against Harry Kane's late goal being disallowed after a VAR check.
Former Spurs youngster Marcus Edwards gave Sporting a deserved first-half lead before Rodrigo Bentancur levelled with 10 minutes to go.
“This decision creates a big damage, I hope the club understands this,” said Conte of his red card. “I think the club has to be strong. I repeat that this situation creates a big damage.
“I would like to see if you can take this type of decision with a top team in an important game. I would like to see if VAR is so brave to take this decision.”
Tottenham 1 Sporting 1: player ratings TOTTENHAM RATINGS: Hugo Lloris – 5. The Frenchman should have done better when faced with Edwards’ low shot, having had sight on it from distance. Later, he abandoned his goal to keep Gomes out but luckily the Sporting player was offside. Getty Images
Cristian Romero – 6. Returned from muscle fatigue but questions will be raised if he gave Edwards too much time and space on the ball to shoot for his goal. Sensing a need to pick up the intensity in the second half, Romero was running into the final third and getting stuck into challenges. Booked. AP Photo
Eric Dier – 5. The England international looked below par in the first half, being left behind after failing to intercept Paulinho in the build-up to Edwards' goal. He had several opportunities in the second half to score, including a header going wide in the last minute. Getty Images
Ben Davies – 5. The Welshman continues to be rotated in the starting eleven with Lenglet and he struggled to deal with Sporting’s attacking threats. AP Photo
Matt Doherty – 6. Handed his first Champions League start, he had several moments in the first half moving forward but was unable to make things connect. He fired over after half-time after the ball fell to him, and forced Adan into a good save later on. Getty Images
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 6. The Denmark international returned after missing the Newcastle game and tried to influence play. However, when it mattered, he was unable to stop Edwards in the run up to the opener. PA
Rodrigo Bentancur – 7. Scored his first Champions League goal to draw his side level, jumping the highest to meet a corner into the box to reward Spurs’ efforts after half-time. He was unable to score a second to win the game when another effort flew over the crossbar. Getty Images
Ivan Perisic – 6. The Croatian struggled to deal with Porro on the wing and to find the end product from his attacks. He improved in the second half and sent in what was thought to be the winning cross for Emerson Royal to head down for Kane to score. Getty Images
Lucas Moura – 6. After a series of appearances from the bench since overcoming a calf injury, Moura was handed his first start of the season and looked lively, including being played through one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Reuters
Son Heung-min - 5. The South Korean was finally able to get a shot away just before half-time when he was found by Kane on the left wing, forcing Adan into a low save. In the second half, he fired at Adan from a tight angle. Getty Images
Harry Kane – 5. Brought into the game more in the second half, he thought he’d ended his Champions League goalless streak when he tapped in Emerson’s deflected header, only for a lengthy VAR check to rule it out for offside. PA
SUBS: Bryan Gil (Doherty 71) – N/A. Quickly into action and spritely in Spurs’ attacking moves, Gil added energy and was part of every Spurs move. AP Photo
Emerson Royal (Moura 81’) – N/A. Thought he had contributed the assist for the winning goal after meeting Perisic’s cross and heading into Kane’s path before the goal was ruled offside. PA
Clement Lenglet (Davies 81’) – N/A. Part of a double change for Spurs to push on for the winner. PA
SPORTING RATINGS: Antonio Adan – 7. The Sporting goalkeeper deserved to keep a clean sheet after making numerous saves, but he was unable to contest Bentancur's header for Spurs’ equaliser. AP Photo
Goncalo Inacio – 7 As part of a back three, Inacio allowed Porro to roam forward while also contributing to his fair share of clearances and blocks. EPA
Sebastian Coates – 7, The Sporting captain returned from injury and was a constant target for set-pieces, having his side’s first effort when he headed just wide of the far post from a corner. He then found the back of the net before his effort was disallowed for handball. Booked. Reuters
Matheus Reis – 7. Calm under pressure when Spurs were pressing in the first half, Reis made several clearances and blocks and was kept busy as Spurs turned up the intensity. Reuters
Pedro Porro – 8. A constant threat who caused problems on the right wing for Davies and Perisic, and who was equally good in defence. Getty Images
Manuel Ugarte – 7. Caught out two Spurs players with a through ball to Edwards which set the striker on his way. Wasn’t shy committing the odd foul to stop Spurs’ intensity. Booked. PA
Hidemasa Morita – 5. The quieter member of Sporting’s midfield, recording only 17 passes before he was substituted due to injury. Getty Images
Nuno Santos – 6. The in-form left winger was his best in defence, constantly cutting out play on the wing. AFP
Francisco Trincao – 6. The Barcelona loanee could have doubled Sporting’s lead amidst a period of Spurs pressure when he linked up with Morita before hitting his effort over. Getty Images
Marcus Edwards – 8. The former Spurs youth product came back to haunt his old club when he played a one-two with Paulinho and skipped a challenge before unleashing a shot from distance to net the opener. Energetic throughout. Getty Images
Paulinho – 7. Handed his first Champions League start, he wasn’t able to convert when Porro’s cross found him in the box, with his touch going just over the crossbar. He was crucial in the one-two to set Edwards off for the opener. AP Photo
SUBS: Mateus Fernandes (Morita 62’) – 6. An injury-forced substitution but he was busier than the Japanese Morita midfielder and made several blocks. AP Photo
Flavio Nazinho (Santos 62’) – 6. Forced Lloris into action when he was played in by Arthur Gomes but the Spurs goalkeeper was able to block. Should have scored at the second time of asking when he was given space but could only see his shot roll wide of the post. AFP
Abdul Fatawu Issahaku (Edwards 71’) – N/A. Tested Lloris in stoppage time as Sporting looked to find the winner, with his shot pushed wide. EPA
Arthur Gomes (Trincao 71’) – N/A. Straight into action and lively after his introduction, shrugging off Romero and playing in Nazinho for a terrific opportunity to double their lead. AFP
Jeremiah St. Juste (Paulinho 75’) – N/A. Read a ball to Son well in the second half to stop another fast break. Getty Images
Conte also insisted that he should not have been sent off because he “didn’t insult anyone” and never crossed the touchline.
On Saturday, Spurs fought back from 2-0 down to beat Bournemouth 3-2 in the Premier League and striker Harry Kane has urged his teammates to be ready from the off in France.
“This [win against the Cherries] sets us up nicely for the week,” said the England captain. “Tuesday is going to be a really tough game, especially with only a couple of days’ rest in between.
“We have to be ready for it and there’s another big game on Sunday [against Liverpool] as well.
“Overall, it’s just important to get back to winning ways in the Premier League. It keeps us up there, in and around the top.
“It’s important for momentum and now we go to Marseille with a good feeling.”
You can see images of Spurs players training ahead of the Marseille game in the gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.
Updated: November 01, 2022, 2:30 AM