Okaka strikes as Anderlecht tame Tottenham
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Article summary
Anderlecht 2-1 Tottenham
Summer signing Stefano Okaka came up trumps as the home side recovered from an early setback to win Group J's 1984 UEFA Cup final rematch.
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Article body
- Anderlecht back in contention in Group J
- Christian Eriksen punishes sloppy defending with early Tottenham goal
- Guillaume Gillet volley levels scores – his second Group J goal
- Summer signing Stefano Okaka clinches first Anderlecht win in section
- The teams meet again at White Hart Lane on 5 November
In-form Stefano Okaka made the decisive intervention 15 minutes from time as Anderlecht picked up their first UEFA Europa League Group J win, and gained belated revenge for their defeat by Tottenham in the 1984 UEFA Cup final.
Visiting Belgian internationals Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Mousa Dembélé looked like they might be in for a pleasant night back on home soil as Spurs were gifted an early lead. Serigne Mbodji's attempted clearance clattered into team-mate Leander Dendoncker, presenting Christian Eriksen with the simple task of beating the exposed Silvio Proto.
Eriksen directed a free-kick narrowly wide soon afterwards, but Tottenham's momentum was disrupted on 13 minutes, an Anderlecht corner making it all the way across the area for Guillaume Gillet to control and fire into the bottom corner. It was his, and Anderlecht's, second goal of the group stage.
They might have gone in front on the half-hour, Hugo Lloris pulling off a fine save to fend away Okaka's drive, with Tottenham having a goal chalked off for offside before the break, Erik Lamela the disappointed party.
Lloris fielded a tidy Gillet strike early in the second half as Anderlecht's confidence grew, and the goalkeeper needed to be alert again to keep out a useful Mbodji header.
Harry Kane came off the bench but could not profit from a decent chance to beat Proto, and he was ultimately upstaged by another replacement, the on-coming Frank Acheampong providing the ball for Okaka to score past Lloris 15 minutes from the end.
Okaka power
A summer signing from Sampdoria, Stefano Okaka is already proving his worth; the 26-year-old Italian scored twice against Zulte Waregem at the weekend and showed strenth and composure to net the Purple-Whites' winner against Tottenham.
Old head to the rescue
Haphazard defending gave Tottenham their early goal, but seasoned right-back Guillaume Gillet ultimately came through for his younger team-mates, the 31-year-old taking up a great position in the box and displaying fine control to equalise from Steven Defour's corner.