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Tottenham Hotspur entered Thursday needing a win or a draw to advance to the knockout stage of the Europa League, and busted out the big guns to do it. Besides the inclusion of Tom Carroll, every other player that took the pitch has been first choice or very close to it for Spurs at some point this season. Things got shaky in the second half when Panathinaikos equalized to nullify Tottenham's early lead, but Spurs were able to pull out a 3-1 win.
Emmanuel Adebayor started up top alongside Jermaine Defoe, and scored Spurs' opening goal. Clint Dempsey set him up with a great touch that sprung him past the Panathinaikos defense, though Adebayor might have been marginally offside. He finished comfortably and Spurs went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Zeca stunned Spurs with an equalizer in the 54th minute, getting on the end of a cross by Nikos Spyropoulos. Kyle Walker didn't exactly do his best defensive work on the goal, and Brad Friedel wasn't quick to react either.
Thankfully for Tottenham supporters, their team fought back to earn a comfortable win. Dempsey nodded a free kick off the crossbar in the 76th minute, and the ball bounced off Panathinaikos goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis before bouncing across the line for an own goal. Defoe netted the game's final goal, scoring with a beautiful chip after receiving the ball in the box from Aaron Lennon.