Tottenham Hotspur welcomed Panathinaikos to White Hart Lane this evening knowing that a point would ensure them qualification to the Europa League knockout stages.
As it was, Spurs picked up all three to join group-winners Lazio and fellow Premier League sides Liverpool, Newcastle United and Chelsea in the last 32 of the competition.
Emmanuel Adebayor's opener was cancelled out by Zeca after the interval, but an own goal and a further Jermain Defoe strike secured the result for Andre Villas-Boas's side.
Below, you can read how Spurs triumphed over their Greek counterparts to elongate their European campaign.
Evening all! This may not have been the European competition that Spurs wanted to be playing in this season, but Andre Villas-Boas has insisted that they are in the Europa League to win it.
With that being said, the Portuguese has taken no chances with his team selection for this evening's crunch clash with the Greeks.
It is a winner-take-all scenario in North London, with the victor of tonight's tie guaranteed a berth in the knockout stages. A draw will also do for Spurs, but that is not reflected in AVB's attacking starting lineup.
For the second time in Tottenham's European campaign, the ex-Chelsea boss has opted to begin 4-4-2, with both Emmanuel Adebayor and Jermain Defoe featuring from the off up front.
Adebayor has not appeared in Spurs' last three domestic fixtures due to suspension, but he is recalled to the starting XI this evening.
Another interesting bit of team news from the Spurs camp is the return of Brad Friedel in between the posts. The American goalkeeper has recently lost his regular first-team place to Frenchman Hugo Lloris.
Twenty-year-old Tom Carroll is awarded a start in midfield after impressing against Lazio, but Moussa Dembele is rested to aid his recovery from a hip concern.
As mentioned, Gareth Bale is unavailable for the Londoners due to a hamstring strain, so AVB has shifted Clint Dempsey to the left flank in order to fit the American into his altered system.
Here is the Spurs team in full...
SPURS: Friedel, Walker, Caulker, Vertonghen, Naughton; Lennon, Sandro, Carroll, Dempsey; Adebayor, Defoe
SUBS: Cudicini, Huddlestone, Livermore, Townsend, Stewart, Dembele, Sigurdsson
Players such as Jake Livermore and Andros Townsend were Europa League regulars for Spurs under Harry Redknapp last season, but Villas-Boas appears reluctant to use the full size of his squad with Tottenham's qualification not yet guaranteed.
Tom Huddlestone and Gylfi Sigurdsson also have to make do with places on the Spurs bench, while a name you may not recognise is that of full-back Kevin Stewart - a 20-year-old graduate of the Lillywhites academy.
And now onto the Panathinaikos team news...
Several of the more familiar names are missing from the Greeks' squad tonight, with former Arsenal forward Quincy Owusu-Abeyie omitted due to a hamstring injury.
Another ex-Premier League player, Jean-Alain Boumsong, who once cost Newcastle United £8m, is also absent for the visitors.
Here comes the Panathinaikos team in full...
PANATHINAIKOS: Karnezis, Seitaridis, Triantafyllopoulos, Vyntra, Spyropoulos; Vitolo, Sow, Sissoko, Zeca, Mavrias; Toche
SUBS: Kapino, Christodoulopoulos, Fornaroli, Marinos, Petropoulos, Chouchoumis, Velazquez
The Greeks name six native players in their XI, most of whom are defensively minded, but they have some continental flair going forward.
Spanish pair Toche and Vitolo will be the main attacking threats for the Spurs defence to worry about, while pacey Ivorian forward Ibrahim Sissoko will stretch the home back line.
Just over five minutes until kickoff now, and the players are about to emerge from the tunnel...
Just a reminder of the possible qualification scenarios this evening - Spurs will progress with a win or a draw, while only victory is enough for the Greeks.
The players are out on the pitch, which means the action is imminent! Prediction time - I'll go for Spurs to win by two goals!
Here we go then, the game is underway at White Hart Lane...
The very early stages of this match suggest how I feel the action might pan out - Spurs having a lot of the ball and Panathinaikos packing 10 men behind the play.
CHANCE! Half a sight of goal for Panathinaikos as Seitaridis aims for Toche with his well-worked free kick, but the Spanish forward cannot make sufficient contact on the delivery, and Friedel can claim.
There is a goal in tonight's other Group J match – and Lazio have taken a 1-0 lead courtesy of Libor Kozak. That damages Tottenham's chances of finishing top of the pool and thus being seeded for the last-32 draw.
SHOT! Dempsey is frustrated with a lack of runners in front of him and shoots wildly over the crossbar from 30 yards.
GOAL! Spurs 1-0 Panathinaikos (Emmanuel Adebayor)
Dempsey finds some space between the visiting midfield and defence, turns and slides Adebayor in with a precise through pass. The Togolese forward takes one touch before wrapping his boot around the ball and finding the bottom corner. Spurs are on their way!
CHANCE! Adebayor links up with Defoe, who holds off his marker well before laying the ball back to Dempsey. He blazes his shot into the stands, but Defoe was in an offside position anyway.
SHOT! Spurs send another misdirected long-range effort off target. Sandro, a goalscorer from 35 yards against Fulham at the weekend, tries his luck from a similar position again but doesn't have his radar plugged in on this occasion.
Carroll delivers from the left and the Greeks fail to clear, leaving Dempsey with a sight of goal. However, his first touch is heavy and Orestis Karnez comes off his line to gather the ball.
There have been two further goals in Slovenia, where Lazio have scored twice more through Stefan Radu and Sergio Floccari to virtually wrap up Group J.
DOUBLE CHANCE! Adebayor plays a one-two with Carroll and gets in on goal, only for Kostas Triantafyllopoulos to thwart him with a great sliding challenge. From the resulting corner, Vertonghen heads towards goal but Seitaridis blocks with a header of his own.
HALF-TIME: Spurs 1-0 Panathinaikos
HALF-TIME: A decent first period from Spurs, who have controlled the proceedings and restricted Panathinaikos to just one half-chance. At the other end, Spurs have been wayward with several efforts but did break the deadlock when Adebayor slotted home from Dempsey's pass. Lazio are winning 3-0 in Maribor, meaning that top spot is probably out of Tottenham's reach, but this result would be enough for Andre Villas-Boas's side to qualify.
You can read Sports Mole's half-time report on the White Hart Lane contest here.
The two sides have reemerged unchanged, and Spurs get the action back underway.
SHOT! Habib Sow travels with the ball before scuffing an ambitious 30-yard effort along the floor which Friedel collects with ease.
OFF THE POST! Defoe so nearly joins his strike partner on the scoresheet! He lets a Dempsey pass run onto his left foot before striking a sweet low shot which cannons off the woodwork.
Panathinaikos briefly go a man down as Vyntra limps out of the action temporarily after clashing with Tom Carroll. The visiting skipper is back on and moving okay now, though.
GOAL! Spurs 1-1 Panathinaikos (Zeca)
Excellent cross from Nikos Spyropoulos is superbly converted at the back post by Zeca, who brilliantly heads the ball across Friedel and into the bottom corner. Suddenly Tottenham's qualification isn't looking so certain!
Spurs appear to be a bit unsettled after conceding as Steven Caulker puts a pass intended for Walker straight out of play. I wouldn't say that the hosts are rocked, but they have lost their way a little.
SUBSTITUTION: There is now a sense of belief in the Greek camp as manager Juan Roman Rocha brings on Lazaros Christodoulopoulos and switches to 4-4-2. Pape Sow is the midfielder sacrificed.
Panathinaikos are enjoying a good spell of play here and are beginning to frustrate Spurs, who have given away several unnecessary fouls.
I wonder if AVB is pondering a change here. The game has passed Tom Carroll by in this second period and the introduction of Moussa Dembele could give Spurs the boost they need.
Yellow card! Spyropoulos becomes the first player to be cautioned this evening for a trip on Lennon.
CHANCE! Fantastic opportunity for the visitors to take the lead as Naughton's attempted clearance strikes Vertonghen and falls to Toche, who pokes it just wide of Friedel's post with the American almost certainly beaten.
Spyropoulos whips another dangerous cross into the box but Vertonghen flicks the ball clear with a superb header on the stretch.
SUBSTITUTION: Here is that change that I was alluding to - Dembele on for Carroll.
GOAL! Spurs 2-1 Panathinaikos (Karnezis og)
There is immediate joy for Spurs after the substitution, but it is Dembele's former Fulham teammate Dempsey that has done the damage. Sandro is fouled in the right corner and Walker delivers the resultant free kick, which is headed onto the bar by Dempsey and the ball hits the goalkeeper Karnezis and rebounds back into the net.
SUBSTITUTION: AVB makes his second change, bringing on Gylfi Sigurdsson for Clint Dempsey in a like-for-like swap.
That second goal has given Spurs a cushion as Panathinaikos now require two to dramatically turn this one around.
GOAL! Spurs 3-1 Panathinaikos (Jermain Defoe)
Make that three! Lennon travels with the ball, cutting inside from the right before playing in Defoe with a reverse pass. The England frontman controls it and then delightfully dinks the outcoming Karnezis to put this match and Tottenham's qualification beyond doubt.
Walker makes an overlapping run down the right and takes on two Greek defenders. Instead of fizzing a low cross towards Sigurdsson at the back post, the full-back attempts a cutback to Defoe, who has the ball poached away from him before he can shoot.
SUBSTITUTION: Jake Livermore will get a short cameo here as he replaces Aaron Lennon for the last three minutes plus stoppage time.
CHANCE! Walker fires a corner into the near-post area and Sigurdsson attacks the ball, but gets under it and his header sails over the crossbar.
We are entering additional time now, of which there will three minutes...
FULL-TIME: Spurs 3-1 Panathinakos - Tottenham are through to the Europa League knockout stages!
So, Spurs join Premier League sides Liverpool and Newcastle in reaching the Europa League last 32. Forward pair Adebayor and Defoe were both among the goals as the Lillywhites triumphed 3-1 over Panathinaikos, who exit the tournament with defeat.
You can read Sports Mole's full-time report on the contest here. That is it from me for this evening - rejoin us for live text coverage from the pick of the Premier League fixtures this weekend. And the Spurs go marching on...
Written by
Joe Fish
Joe Fish
