Andre Villas-Boas decided to make the Europa League a priority for Tottenham Hotspur. You can argue whether or not that was smart, but he did and the club has been pushing for a spot in the knockout stages all fall. So Spurs are going for it, fin. But if you are going to go for it in a secondary competition you sure as hell better make it out of the group stage.
Today, Spurs are in danger going out of the Europa League. A loss and their tournament is done. That's unacceptable.
The flip side is that all Tottenham need is a win or a draw and they are through to the knockout stages. Mission accomplished, put the competition to bed until the spring and focus on the league. Well done, everyone.
Spurs play Panathinaikos, which we know to be one of those shirtless Greek teams. I won't pretend to know a lot about their players or sort out the tactics. Frankly, I don't care. At this point, there is only one thing that matters.
It is simple: Spurs made Europa League a priority, now advance.