The night of high drama lasted right until the 95th minute.
And that made it all the more cruel for Tottenham on a night of nerves and frustration at White Hart Lane. Harry Kane saw an injury time effort ruled out for offside by VAR which takes Group D to the final match day in Marseille next Tuesday night.
Antonio Conte’s frustrations boiled over as he was sent to the stands but ultimately Tottenham were punished for their own shortcomings. The last gasp VAR drama will probably also not be lost on Manchester City as it went Tottenham’s way in the 2018 quarter final - but came back to haunt Spurs this time.
Ex-Tottenham trainee Marcus Edwards also produced a great comeback to throw into the mix as for so long it looked as if he would be the story of the night. Tottenham’s Rodrigo Bentancur did level after 80 minutes to set up a grandstand finish - but they just could not find a winner to secure their place in the knock-out stages.
Instead, they are left with a nervy trip to France and they will not have their manager on the touchline with Conte now facing a ban because of his red card. Failure to reach the knock-out stages would be unforgivable for Tottenham and yet Conte, despite his glorious CV and track record of trophies, does not boast a good record in the Champions League.
It was also another night of misery for Tottenham keeper Hugo Lloris who has been one of the great keepers of recent years thanks to his World Cup success with France. But there was further evidence of Lloris steady decline as he should not have been beaten by Edwards’ 22nd minute opener.
That almost summed up a bad night for Spurs who, after back-to-back Premier League defeats, needed a win not just to progress but to lift the mood.
Instead, they did not produce again and you are left wondering when the real Tottenham will stand up this season. They are still handily placed in both the Premier League and Champions League but look a team still searching for consistency and identity.
They went behind to a sucker punch from a player who was back to haunt them again as Edwards - who left White Hart Lane three years ago - was sensational and clearly on a mission in the first half. Edwards picked up the ball in midfield, skipped away from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg who then tried to bring him down - and could not even get close enough to foul him.
The ex-Spurs youngster looked up, took aim from just over 20 yards and let fly. The cross shot skimmed across the turf, Lloris was slow to get down and could not stop the ball from going into the far corner to put Sporting and Edwards in dreamland. There was a smattering of boos from the home crowd at half time but the noise and pressure was overwhelming after half time even if Sporting substitute Flavio Nazinho missed two gilt edged chances to put the visitors 2-0 up.
Then it felt like it was only a matter of time before Tottenham’s pressure paid off. And it finally came in the 80th minute. Ivan Perisic swung over a corner, Bentancur jumped highest and nodded over the line.
There was still time for a winner - and it looked to have come deep into the fifth minute of injury time. The ball was swung into the box, Emerson Royal headed on, it came off Nazinho and fell to Kane who smashed home. Referee Danny Makkelie checked with VAR, Kane was ahead of the ball when Royal headed it on it even though the Spurs players looked baffled by the laws of the game they play and then even more angry at the outcome.
