Barcelona 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur: Mauricio Pochettino says 'mission impossible' achieved - BBC Sport
Tottenham achieved "mission impossible" by qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League, according to manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Last updated on .From the section Champions League

Tottenham achieved "mission impossible" by qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League, according to manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Lucas Moura's 85th-minute equaliser earned a priceless point at Barcelona, as Spurs completed an unlikely turnaround in Group B having collected only one point from their first three games.

They needed to match or better Inter Milan's result at home to PSV Eindhoven and had faced elimination when Mauro Icardi cancelled out PSV's early goal.

Moura's goal swung the advantage back in Spurs' favour but an agonising wait followed before it was confirmed Inter had failed to find a winner against the group's bottom side.

"I am so happy for the fans - this is a massive, massive achievement for the club," said Pochettino.

"We suffered because when we finished the game we did not know the result at Inter. It was two very difficult minutes, but in the end of course we were so happy. It's so important for the club."

The Premier League side had gone behind to Ousmane Dembele's early strike but then peppered Barcelona's defence with wave after wave of attacks, with both Harry Kane and Son Heung-min going close.

They finally made the decisive breakthrough five minutes from the end when substitute Moura, who moments earlier had a header cleared off the line, fired in.

Spurs become only the eighth side to qualify from the group stage after claiming only one point from their first three games.
• None Football Daily podcast: Liverpool and Tottenham through - but do Spurs lack a superstar?

Had Pochettino's side been eliminated they would have looked back with regret on only beating Barca goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen on one occasion.

The Dutchman, who replaced first-choice Marc-Andre ter Stegen, was exceptional throughout and his clawed save to keep out Moura's earlier effort came after superb stops to deny Son and Christian Eriksen.

Kane was also denied by the makeshift Barcelona defence when his header was cleared off the line by Miranda.

But, like the rest of his team-mates, Kane persevered and with time running out his pinpoint cross found Moura whose first-time finish sealed Spurs' qualification - an achievement that seemed so improbable just a few weeks ago.

Pochettino added: "I always believed it was possible to win the game. We produced a lot of chances.

"But after we missed so many we thought maybe it was not our night. We fully deserved to go through with Barcelona. We were the best teams in a difficult group."

Not the ideal start for the visitors

Tottenham fans had wished to see Champions League football at their new home this season, but the likelihood of that appeared increasingly more distant after the first three games of their campaign.

A 2-1 defeat at Inter came before a 4-2 humbling at home by Barcelona. And when they only managed a 2-2 result at PSV, it seemed game over.

But then came a flicker of hope with victory against PSV before a 1-0 win at home to Inter.

Barcelona had already qualified and expectedly named a weakened starting XI, with Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba all starting from the bench.

However, before Tottenham had a chance to test the inexperienced line-up they suffered a setback when Dembele scored a brilliant solo goal.

The Frenchman, who cost Barcelona £135m in 2017, robbed Kyle Walker-Peters of the ball at halfway, drove towards goal and cut inside the desperate lunge of Harry Winks before sliding his shot under Hugo Lloris.

The home side went close to a second a handful of times with Philippe Coutinho twice hitting the post with low efforts before Walker-Peters made a brilliant block to deny the Brazilian.

Messi was brought off the bench in the second half but he failed to make an impact, much to the delight of the visitors.

Kane underlines his value again - the stats
• None Barcelona have gone unbeaten in each of their last 29 home games in the Champions League (W26 D3), equalling Bayern Munich's record set in April 2002.
• None Spurs have qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League for the third time in four participations in the competition, failing only to do so in 2016-17.
• None Since the start of 1976-77, Barcelona have lost just one of their 31 European home matches against English clubs; this coming against Liverpool in February 2007 (1-2).
• None Tottenham's Kane has had a hand in 16 goals in 16 Champions League appearances (13 goals, three assists)
• None Barcelona's Dembele has scored in each of his last three Champions League appearances at the Nou Camp.
• None Barcelona named a starting line-up with an average age of 25 years and 17 days; their youngest in a Champions League game since December 2015 v Bayer Leverkusen (24 years and 319 days).
• None Attempt missed. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Arthur.
• None Attempt missed. Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Harry Kane.
• None Attempt missed. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) left footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high from a direct free kick.
• None Goal! Barcelona 1, Tottenham Hotspur 1. Lucas Moura (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Harry Kane.
• None Coutinho (Barcelona) hits the right post with a right footed shot from the left side of the box. Assisted by Lionel Messi.
• None Attempt blocked. Erik Lamela (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Toby Alderweireld.
• None Clément Lenglet (Barcelona) wins a free kick on the right wing.
• None Attempt blocked. Carles Aleñá (Barcelona) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Denis Suárez. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page