Tottenham moved to the top of Group D as they survived a chaotic finale against Eintracht Frankfurt to secure a 3-2 win in north London.
The pressure was on Antonio Conte’s side going into the match, picking up just one point across their previous two Champions League matches, and that was not helped when Daichi Kamada put the Bundesliga side in front.
But three goals in 16 first-half minutes swiftly got things back on track for Spurs, as two from Heung-min Son, the second a stunning volley, were sandwiched by a typically clinical Harry Kane penalty.
Tuta was sent off after the break for the visitors to make life even more comfortable for Tottenham, but Faride Alidou’s header set up a grandstand final few minutes and Kane then blazed over from the spot in a bizarre conclusion. It was a mess from Spurs in the closing stages, but they just about held on.
Frankfurt started the match on the front-foot and they got their reward, as Eric Dier was caught on the ball. Randal Kolo Muani’s shot was saved, it came out to Sebastian Rode and he squared it to leave Kamada the simplest of finishes.
The usual suspects turned it around though, Kane sliding a perfect pass through to Son and he curled the finish into the bottom corner to equalise with what was the 50th goal the pair have combined for.
Kane took matters into his own hands eight minutes later, as he drove into the box and went down under a challenge from Kristijan Jakic. After a VAR review the penalty was eventually given, and from that point there was no doubting the end result.
Spurs were flying now and they extended their lead in sublime fashion, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg skipping past the challenges on the right wing and standing a ball up to the back post, where Son thumped the sweetest of volleys past a stunned Kevin Trapp.
Frankfurt’s difficult task became an impossible one after the break, as they were reduced to ten men on the hour mark. Three minutes after picking up a first yellow card, Tuta then dragged Son back and was booked again, the red eventually following once the referee realised the defender was a repeat offender.
Makoto Hasebe was incredibly fortunate to not follow his team-mate down the tunnel, as he brought down Son with a fairly cynical lunge when already on a yellow card. A combination of Hasebe rolling around in pain and perhaps some pity from the referee saw him survive, and the centre-back was immediately substituted.
Jesper Lindstrom had a shot tipped over the bar by Hugo Lloris as the ten-men of Frankfurt continued to show some ambition, before Alidou’s header from a corner with three minutes remaining all of a sudden changed the mood in north London.
That was eased when Bryan Gil, just off the bench, went down in the box, but the seemingly inevitable outcome did not materialise as Kane blazed the spot-kick high over the bar and into the stands. Fortunately for him and Spurs, a messy conclusion did not cost them.
