LONDON: Tottenham bolstered their bid to qualify for the Champions League last 16 with a 3-0 win over Slavia Prague in front of their former star Son Heung-min on Tuesday.
As South Korea forward Son watched from the stands, Thomas Frank’s side eased to a valuable victory in north London thanks to David Zima’s first-half own goal and penalties from Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons after the interval.
Buoyed by Saturday’s much-needed home victory over Brentford in the Premier League, Tottenham made it two successive wins in front of their own fans to ease the pressure on Frank after a rocky spell.
Tottenham are up to ninth place in the league phase ahead of their final matches against Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt in January, with the top eight automatically reaching the last 16 and teams from ninth to 24th going into the play-offs.
“Very happy with the win. We are in a strong position to progress,” Frank said.
“I liked a lot from our performance but I also think we can be much better in the future and be more in control, but we’ve had four games in not many days.”
It was an emotional night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Son returned to say an official goodbye after his summer move to Los Angeles FC.
Son scored 173 goals in 454 games for Tottenham and captained the club to the Europa League victory against Manchester United last season to end their 17-year trophy drought.
Just hours after his mural was unveiled on the Tottenham High Road earlier in the day, the 33-year-old addressed the fans who idolised him before kick-off and was presented with a momento during an emotional on-pitch ceremony.
“Good to see him. I’m happy at the well deserved reception he got. A true Tottenham legend returning home,” Frank said.