Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Paços de Ferreira: Kane. Lo Celso send Spurs to Conference League group stage

Tottenham Hotspur picked up a commanding 3-0 victory at home to Portuguese side Paços de Ferreira, overcoming a 1-0 deficit from last week’s first leg to qualify for the Conference League group stage.

Harry Kane made his first start of the season and scored twice, while Giovani Lo Celso scored the game’s final goal in the second half.

First half

1’ - Kane makes his way into the box and takes the game’s first shot just 15 seconds after kickoff, but sends the ball wide of the goal.

7’ - Pierluigi Gollini looks a little bit shaky early on, struggling twice now to keep the ball at his feet under pressure from Paços’ attackers.

9’ - GOAL SPURS! Harry Winks wins a tackle on the left side of the pitch and sends it forward to Bryan Gil, who makes his way into the box. He passes to Kane near the penalty spot, and he wastes no time scoring his first goal of the season.

17’ - Lo Celso makes his way through a crowd and approaches the goal line, sending the ball to the other side of the net to meet Ryan Sessegnon. Sessegnon, though, does not get to the ball in time and misses a chance to shoot from close range.

29’ - Cristian Romero is booked for going studs up on Denílson, which earns Paços a freekick but nothing comes of it.

33’ - Bryan takes a shot from right outside the penalty area. A deflection helps, but his shot hits the goalpost and heads out for an inconsequential corner.

33’ - GOAL SPURS! Paços and Tottenham go back and forth as the visitors try to clear the ball, which eventually lands at Kane’s feet. Though his initial shot is deflected, Paços cannot regain possession and Kane moves closer to the goal to pounce on the loose ball and score his second goal of the game.

42’ - Lucas has the chance to whip in a cross to a wide-open Kane, and sends the ball over the net instead.

Second half

50’ - Lo Celso takes a freekick from right outside the penalty area and goes straight for goal, just missing the goal.

53’ - Paços enjoy its best spell in front of the Spurs goal, but were not able to convert their efforts into a meaningful chance.

54’ - Bryan is close to scoring again, capitalizing on a loose ball in the penalty area and sending the ball over the net.

67’ - Another chance for Bryan, this time a shot from an angle that rolls just wide of the goal.

70’ - GOAL SPURS! Lo Celso takes a freekick from the right side of the box, aims straight for goal and scores.

76’ - Son Heung-min, on as a substitute, ends up right in front of goal but misses the target.

83’ - A few minutes later, same story for Son. He gets close to goal again but can’t put the shot on target.

Thoughts on the match

• This was a classic paddling in a lot of ways — Paços were limited to 36% possession and took only three shots. Outside of a somewhat threatening opportunity in the first half, the visitors did not manage much.
• Nuno Espírito Santo made three changes to the team that lost at Paços last week, switching out youth players for more established ones. For the first team regulars that played both legs, it probably helped that they had more familiarity with their teammates during the second leg.
• For me, the standout performers of the game were Kane, Lo Celso, and Bryan. Sessegnon also enjoyed some bright moments, and Steven Bergwijn had a nice 18 minute cameo as a substitute.
• I also enjoyed watching Romero, but he gets a separate bulletpoint because it feels like this is the first of many times we’ll see the full Romero experience. He’s got a fun attacking side, but also loves a foul. It’s a very particular energy that I imagine will provide some noteworthy moments in the future.