Live Commentary: Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Anzhi Makhachkala - as it happened

Roberto Soldado has netted a hat-trick as Tottenham Hotspur recorded a 4-1 victory over Anzhi Makhachkala in the Europa League.

The Spaniard, who has struggled for goals since joining from Valencia in the summer, scored twice in the opening 16 minutes, before Ewerton halved the deficit just before half time.

Lewis Holtby recorded Spurs' third after the break, before Soldado completed his treble from the penalty spot with 20 minutes remaining.

Read below to see how the action unfolded at White Hart Lane.

9.57pmThat will be all from Sports Mole for this match. Thank you for joining for what has been an action-packed four-and-a-half hours of Europa League football. Goodbye for now.

9.56pmSpurs have concluded their group-stage campaign with a comfortable 4-1 win over Anzhi Makhachkala. The result of this contest was never in doubt, and Andre Villas-Boas will be all smiles after witnessing Roberto Soldado net a hat-trick.

90+3 minFULL TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Anzhi Makhachkala

90+2 minSHOT! Pomazan pulls off an excellent stop to prevent Lamela netting the fifth for Spurs. That should be it as far as the action is concerned.

90 minThere will be three minutes of added-on time.

88 minThere's just a couple of minutes remaining at White Hart Lane. I'm sure that Villas-Boas will want his players to coast through the final few minutes ahead of their weekend fixture with Liverpool.

84 minTownsend dances his way past two Anzhi players before being fouled on the edge of the penalty area. The England international gets back to his feet to take the set piece, but it's deflected wide for a corner.

81 minCHANCES! Anzhi should have a goal back, but Brad Friedel has pulled off a fine double save to keep the score at 4-1. Nikita Burmistrov cut inside onto his left foot to force the American to save low down to his left, before his attempted lob was claimed out of the air by the veteran stopper.

77 minSUBSTITUTION! Young striker Shaquile Coulthirst has been introduced into the fray for the final 15 minutes, replacing three-goal hero Roberto Soldado.

74 minSHOT! Holtby lets fly from 30 yards, but his shot is well parried away by Pomazan. Spurs are still pushing.

70 minAt first glance, Ryan Fredericks looks as though he has been tripped for what appeared to be a stonewall penalty. His appeals were initially turned down, but for whatever reason, the officials have changed their mind. You can see why the penalty has been given, but it wasn't the correct decision. Nevertheless, Soldado stepped up to squeeze the ball past Pomazan for his hat-trick.

70 minGOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Anzhi Makhachkala (Soldado)

68 minPENALTY TO TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR!

64 minSUBSTITUTION! Eriksen joins the action as a replacement for Moussa Dembele. The Dane has 26 minutes to make a positive impact on his return from injury.

63 minCHANCE! Moments after mentioning the young Englishman, he ran down the right-hand side to cross for Soldado, whose header on the turn was dealt with by Pomazan.

61 minRyan Fredericks has eased into his role at right-back. The 21-year-old is much in the same mould as Kyle Walker, and he has already bombed on past Townsend on several occasions.

58 minThat could be the match over and done with as a contest, but Spurs smell more goals. I would imagine that Christian Eriksen will be entering the action at some point in the near future.

54 minWhat a terrific goal. Townsend is the creator, dinking the ball over the Anzhi defence for the advancing Holtby, who brought the ball down before volleying the ball over the goalkeeper and in off the far post from eight yards. It was a delightful finish.

54 minGOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Anzhi Makhachkala (Holtby)

52 minBOOKING! That's one of the easiest decisions that the referee will have to make tonight. Ilya Maksimov goes into the book after pulling the shirt of Moussa Dembele.

51 minEver since his explosive opening 20 minutes, Soldado has gone a little quiet. He was the target of a Townsend cross from the right, but the ball drifted over the Spaniard's head.

48 minChelsea striker Samuel Eto'o is at White Hart Lane. I'm presuming that he is just visiting his old teammates at Anzhi, rather than a shock switch to Spurs.

46 minSpurs get us back underway.

9.06pmAndre Villas-Boas has made a change at half time, replacing Danny Rose with youngster Ryan Fredericks.

9.03pmEarlier this evening, Swansea City progressed through to the knockout rounds, despite falling to a 1-0 defeat in St Gallen. You can read the report from that game by clicking here.

8.57pmRather surprisingly, Anzhi have had more shots on goal than their hosts, heading the attempts stats by six to four. However, Spurs have had 59% of possession, and if they show a bit more intent in the second half, they should be able to put this match to bed.

8.52pmFor the majority of the opening 45 minutes, Spurs have looked in control against Anzhi, but that goal just before half time makes for an interesting second half at White Hart Lane.

45+1 minHALF TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Anzhi Makhachkala

44 minNow then, game on! After Jucilei sees a header tipped over by Brad Friedel, Anzhi pull a goal back from the resulting corner through Ewerton, who powers a header into the bottom corner from eight yards.

44 minGOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Anzhi Makhachkala (Ewerton)

41 minCHANCE! Sigurdsson does superbly to work the ball over to Townsend, who is in acres of space on the left. The winger closes in on goal but his chip over the goalkeeper goes wide of the far post. Should be 3-0.

38 minDanny Rose has enjoyed a quiet game on his comeback from injury. The left-back has been absent since suffering a toe injury against Tromso in the opening group game.

35 minBOOKING! Townsend displays his immense pace once more, and draws a free kick out of Gia Grigalava, who is promptly booked by the referee.

31 minCHANCE! Andros Townsend does well down the left before floating the ball into the penalty area, but Sigurdsson's header towards the far post was lacking power and it drifted wide.

27 minErik Lamela is another player who could do with a confidence boost before the weekend. There's been talk of offers being made for his services in January, but I'm sure that he will be keen to justify his price tag at White Hart Lane.

23 minIt's funny what a goal can do for your confidence. Soldado is taking players on, muscling defenders off the ball, working back to retrieve possession. Where has all of this been in the Premier League?

20 minBOOKING! Lewis Holtby goes into the referee's notebook for a needless challenge on the halfway line. The midfielder might have slipped before making the tackle, but it was a stupid one all the same.

19 minYou get the impression that this could get a little bit harsh on Anzhi. There's plenty of gaps in their defence, and that is only going to encourage the home side.

16 minWho would have predicted this. Soldado nets his second of the night with a composed finish from inside the penalty area. The striker drifted behind the defence, before firing the ball across the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner.

16 minGOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Anzhi Makhachkala (Soldado)

11 minVillas-Boas must be delighted with his striker's opener, but there should be opportunities for more. Despite Anzhi starting brightly, Spurs should win this at a canter.

7 minYou're not going to believe this. Roberto Soldado has scored! No, seriously. He has. The ball was fired across goal by Sigurdsson, and the Spaniard managed to glance the ball in off the far post with his head. Much relief all round at White Hart Lane.

7 minGOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Anzhi Makhachkala (Soldado)

5 minAnzhi's dominance is coming as a bit of a surprise, but they should be ahead. Ilya Maksimov eased his way behind the Spurs defence, but he took too much time on the ball, and that gave Friedel the chance to block the shot.

3 minAnzhi have started brightly against the Premier League side, earning a corner kick on the left-hand side. It's a decent ball into the box, but the resulting header goes skywards.

1 minWe are underway at White Hart Lane. Remember that both teams have already qualified for the next round and cannot improve on their current position. Let's just hope for a few goals...

8.03pmANZHI MAKHACHKALA XI: Pomazan; Agalarov, Ewerton, Epureanu, Grigalava; Sobolev, Maximov, Jucilei, Burmistrov; Razak, Serderov

8.02pmTOTTENHAM HOTSPUR XI: Friedel; Naughton, Capoue, Fryers, Rose; Dembele, Holtby; Lamela, Sigurdsson, Townsend; Soldado

8.01pmHello, and welcome to Sports Mole's coverage of the match between Tottenham Hotspur and Anzhi Makhachkala in the Europa League.