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Tottenham pay for missed chances against Roma · The 42
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Tottenham Hotspur's Dejan Kulusevski (right) appears dejected with team-mate Lucas Bergvall. Alamy Stock Photo

Tottenham pay for missed chances against Roma

Meanwhile, Chelsea closed in on progress to the Conference League last-16.

Tottenham 2-2 AS Roma

TOTTENHAM’S INCONSISTENT form continued after Mats Hummels’ stoppage-time goal ensured they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Claudio Ranieri’s Roma in the Europa League.

Spurs had looked on course to back up Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing of Manchester City with a hard-fought victory after captain Son Heung-min and Brennan Johnson struck in the first half to cancel out Evan N’Dicka’s goal.

Ange Postecoglou watched his team squander several chances to set up a nervy finale and not long after Fraser Forster, who deputised for the first time since Guglielmo Vicario’s ankle surgery, had produced a superb save to deny Gianluca Mancini, the visitors levelled.

Postecoglou had made half a dozen changes in each of Spurs’ previous four Europa League matches but went stronger with only four from the win at Man City.

All eyes were on Forster and yet the immediate action occurred in Roma’s penalty area as Pape Sarr won a spot-kick in the third minute after being caught by Hummels.

Referee Glenn Nyberg eventually pointed to the spot after assistance from VAR and Son made no mistake for only his fourth goal of the season.

It failed to act as a catalyst for the hosts, however, as Roma responded strongly with Paulo Dybala being denied by Forster.

Tottenham’s sloppiness in possession continued and they were punished in the 20th minute when Dybala produced a fine ball into the area for N’Dicka to flick home via the crossbar.

Ranieri celebrated again two minutes later, but Stephan El Shaarawy’s volley into the bottom corner was ruled out for offside by VAR.

It remained end to end as Postecoglou’s side finally woke up with Roma left-back Angelino forced to make a superb block on the line from Johnson before Dominic Solanke’s follow-up was saved by Mile Svilar.

Back down the other end and Forster got down well to thwart Dybala’s latest effort before Spurs did make their next opportunity count.

Sarr was involved again as he sent Dejan Kulusevski away down the left and the in-form attacker patiently waited to cut back for Johnson, who steered into the bottom corner after 33 minutes.

Tottenham nearly grabbed another two minutes later when Kulusevski bundled into the area and hit the post before Son blazed over the rebound.

Son had another shot tipped wide by Svilar before half-time and after Johnson fired over at the start of the second period, Roma regained the ascendancy.

Manu Kone and Artem Dovbyk both had efforts ruled out for offside in quick succession before Angelino’s superb volley from Zeki Celik’s cross deflected off Pedro Porro and onto the crossbar.

It was another let-off for Spurs, who did react with a marauding Ben Davies run able to win a free-kick, which Porro clipped onto the crossbar.

Postecoglou turned to his bench with 21 minutes left as Yves Bissouma and James Maddison entered the fray.

Maddison almost immediately helped put the game to bed when he sent Solanke away, but his powerful strike was pushed over by Svilar.

An even better chance was created for Solanke with 10 minutes left, but he headed against the crossbar after a fine Archie Gray centre.

It looked like Tottenham had survived when Forster made a superb save to deny Mancini’s volley at the start of five minutes of stoppage time, but Hummels fired home from Angelino’s cross not long after to ensure the points were shared.

heidenheim-an-der-brenz-germany-28th-november-2024-christopher-nkunku-of-chelsea-celebrates-after-scoring-0-1-during-the-europa-conference-league-soccer-match-between-fch-heidenheim-and-fc-chelsea Christopher Nkunku of Chelsea celebrates after scoring. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Heidenheim 0-2 Chelsea

Elsewhere, Chelsea moved to within one win of the Conference League last-16 with a 2-0 victory away to Heidenheim to maintain their perfect start in the competition.

Christopher Nkunku and Mykhailo Mudryk scored the goals in the second half, Jadon Sancho’s cut-back shortly after the interval finding the France international who fired in his 11th of the season, then Mudryk finished things late on with a lovely finish into the top corner.

Manager Frank Schmidt has spent 17 years in charge of Heidenheim, leading them from the fifth tier of German football to the Bundesliga and into Europe, and they defied their humble status to give Enzo Maresca’s side, who had Cesare Casadei sent off in stoppage time, their toughest challenge this season in Europe.

Tosin Adarabioyo, who scored his first goal for the club during the 8-0 demolition of Armenian side Noah earlier in November, arrived to meet a whipped free-kick on the stroke of half-time, his poke sailing fractionally past the post as Chelsea came within a whisker of going in ahead at the break.

The breakthrough arrived five minutes after the interval. Axel Disasi put in a bullish challenge to win the ball in midfield, allowing Dewsbury-Hall to take up possession. He worked it wide on the right to Sancho, whose cross was collected via a deft first touch by Nkunku who crashed it into the far corner for 1-0.

Having fought hard for their lead it was nearly whipped away from them within minutes. The defence dithered in trying to clear the ball from the edge of the box and it broke to Leo Scienza who lashed it low and hard, first time towards the bottom corner, but there again was Jorgensen with a save.

Moments later, Scienza went close again with an audacious, curling effort from outside the box which Jorgensen was relieved to see drop inches wide of the post.

Chelsea’s goalkeeper was being given the most thorough examination of his Chelsea career. He pulled off an outstanding block to deny Wanner when the 18-year-old went clean through in the 69th minute.

The offside flag saved Chelsea after Maximilian Breunig’s header found the top corner.

But the visitors would have the last word, Mudryk meeting Sancho’s low cross with a brilliant, rising effort into the roof of the net four minutes from time.
The Italian head coach – Chelsea’s 18th during Schmidt’s reign – again called upon his second string, making 10 changes from Saturday’s Premier League win over Leicester.

That meant a start for striker Marc Guiu, and the 18-year-old went close early on when trying to beat Kevin Muller at his near post from Mykhailo Mudryk’s pass, the goalkeeper down quickly with a smart stop.

Teenager Paul Wanner, the Bayern Munich loanee, tested Filip Jorgensen in Chelsea’s goal, then Guiu drew another block from the legs of Muller.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was next to go close for the visitors, hitting a fierce drive from range that the goalkeeper turned behind for a corner. Wanner then had the best chance of the opening 25 minutes, stealing in behind Chelsea’s defence and firing towards Jorgensen’s near post, denied by a fine reaction stop from Maresca’s number two.

Nice 1-4 Rangers

PHILIPPE CLEMENT AGAIN found sanctuary in Europe as Rangers romped to a remarkable 4-1 win over Nice in France.

Amid domestic struggles which have piled pressure on the Belgian boss, his side again came up with the goods this season in the Europa League.

The home side had an early penalty award overturned and the Ibrox side took advantage with goals from winger Vaclav Cerny, midfielder Mohamed Diomande and striker Hamza Igamane before the break.

The 22-year-old Moroccan, making his first European start, grabbed his second in the 54th minute as the home side’s dismal defensive display deteriorated before Badredine Bouanani reduced the deficit in the 83rd minute.

Rangers moved on to 10 points from five fixtures and the victory was a real boost to chances of a top-eight finish.

The Light Blues sit nine points behind second-placed Aberdeen in the William Hill Premiership having played a game less and 11 behind Old Firm rivals Celtic.

However, the Govan side are now unbeaten in seven consecutive European away matches under Clement, equalling the record of seven set by former boss Steven Gerrard in 2020-21.

Rangers host Tottenham next month and then have away games against Manchester United and Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise in January and progress in the competition must be on the agenda.

Clement made only one change to the team who started the 1-1 draw with Dundee United at Ibrox on Sunday, Igamane coming in for the much maligned Cyriel Dessers, with captain James Tavernier again left on the bench.

Just under 2,000 Gers fans made the journey to France and in a frantic start they watched the lively Cerny fire an early shot wide.

Nice were depleted due to injury and suspension with two teenagers starting, Issiaga Camara and Bouanani, and the latter came close with a superb drive from 25 yards.

Then there was a long VAR check by Spanish referee Ricardo de Burgos in the sixth minute after he awarded a penalty after what looked like handballs by John Souttar and Dujon Sterling and a tackle by Connor Barron inside the Rangers box in a chaotic passage of play – but the decision was overturned to Rangers’ relief.

Moments later, the Govan side broke in numbers and winger Nedim Bajrami played in Igamane but he dallied and was overcrowded, while Cerny was to his right in a better position.

However, in the 35th minute Igamane worked well inside the Nice box set up Cerny and his drive from 17 yards appeared to take a couple of deflections before ending up behind goalkeeper Marcin Bulka.

Three minutes later right-back Dujon Sterling flighted the ball in to the Nice box and Pablo Rosario let it go behind him only to see Diomande stretch to knock the ball past the bemused Nice keeper.

Back came the French side and Gers keeper Jack Butland made a decent save from Gaetan Laborde’s header but in the third minute of five added on at the end of the first half, Igamane pounced on a short pass back from Mohamed Abdelmonem, rounded Bulka and slammed the ball in to the net.

As expected Nice rallied at the start of the second half and had a series of effort on goal, one from former Tottenham midfielder Tanguy Ndombele, who came on as a second-half substitute.

However, Rangers responded with shots from left-back Jefte and Bajrami before Igamane put the ball past Rosario, who made the initial mistake, and confidently steered the ball past stunned keeper Bulka.

The visitors had numerous opportunities to add to their lead as Nice’s defensive strategy disintegrated and heads dropped.

Bulka saved two drives from substitute Ridvan Yilmaz who then missed a good chance at the back post before Nice got a consolation after winning a free-kick 25 yards from goal, Bouanani curling the ball high past the helpless Butland and there was even time for Gers substitute Dessers to miss a sitter.

Olimpija Ljubljana 1-0 Larne

Larne saw their hopes of reaching the Conference League knockout stage all but ended after a 1-0 defeat away to Slovenian outfit Olimpija Ljubljana, where they finished with 10 men.

The Invermen were playing a first match since the departure of boss Tiernan Lynch, who has moved on to Derry City.

Despite a resolute defensive display in the first half, Olimpija’s pressure finally told when substitute Ivan Durdov headed home from a corner in the 67th minute.

With nine minutes left, Sean Graham was shown a second yellow card as Larne were left bottom of the Conference League table following a fourth straight European defeat, while Olimpija moved up into the qualification places.

Gary Haveron took charge of the team at the Stozice Stadium, with new manager Nathan Rooney set to take over ahead of Sunday’s NIFL Premiership game against Cliftonville.

Olimpija made a positive start, with defender Ahmet Muhamedbegovic heading over when the ball was swung back into the box after a corner.

After being pushed deep into their own half for long spells, Larne made a venture forward as Graham got down the right flank and floated the ball into the Olimpija penalty area, where Paul O’Neill nodded wide.

Olimpija went close to breaking the deadlock just before half-time following a swift counter-attack which found Raul Florucz into the six-yard box – but Larne keeper Rohan Ferguson was out quickly to make a smart reaction save.

Ferguson was again called into action at the start of the second half when he stuck out a hand to push away Marko Brest’s close-range header.

Larne – embarking on a first European campaign past the qualifiers for a team from the Irish Premiership – created a rare opportunity in the 52nd minute.

Mark Randall won the ball in midfield and played in Dylan Sloan, who drove on into the box, but then dragged his shot wide.

Olimpija finally found a way past the Larne defence when substitute Ivan Durdov, who just come on, headed home from a corner in the 67th minute.

Haveron made a triple change as he looked to get Larne back into the tie, with Matthew Lusty, Conor McKendry and Sam Todd all brought off the bench.

Olimpija wing-back David Sualehe flashed a curling effort just wide of the far post when the ball dropped to him at he edge of the penalty area following a corner.

Larne were reduced to 10 men with nine minutes left when Sean Graham was shown a second yellow card for shoving Olimpija defender Jorge Silva.

Lusty was sent clear late on, but could only chip a tame effort straight at goalkeeper Matevz Vidovsek before Olimpija saw a close-range effort Antonio Marin ruled out for offiside.

Uefa Europa League matchday five results on Thursday:

Lazio (ITA) 0 Ludogorets (BUL) 0

AZ Alkmaar (NED) 1 (Mijnans 2) Galatasaray (TUR) 1 (Osimhen 43)

Qarabag (AZE) 1 (Juninho 88-pen) Lyon (FRA) 4 (Mikautadze 15, 80, Tolisso 63, Fofana 68)

Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) 1 (Kabaiev 90+5) Viktoria Plzen (CZE) 2 (Vydra 55, Sulc 90)

Athletic Bilbao (ESP) 3 (Boiro 6, Prados 24, Guruzeta 54) Elfsborg (SWE) 0

Anderlecht (BEL) 2 (De Greef 52, Amuzu 86) Porto (POR) 2 (Galeno 24-pen, Vieira 83)

Besiktas (TUR) 1 (Silva 38) Maccabi Tel Aviv (ISR) 3 (Kanichowsky 23, Peretz 45+3, Patati 81)

Rigas FS (LAT) 0 PAOK (GRE) 2 (Despodov 2, Chalov 59)

Manchester United (ENG) 3 (Garnacho 1, Hojlund 45, 50) Bodo/Glimt (NOR) 2 (Evjen 19, Zinckernagel 23)

Tottenham (ENG) 2 (Son 5-pen, Johnson 33) Roma (ITA) 2 (Ndicka 20, Hummels 90+1)

Slavia Prague (CZE) 1 (Chory 7) Fenerbahce (TUR) 2 (Dzeko 35, En-Nesyri 85)

Real Sociedad (ESP) 2 (Barrenetxea 67, Kubo 85) Ajax (NED) 0

Sporting Braga (POR) 3 (Bruma 2, Fernandes 8, Carvalho 90+5) Hoffenheim (GER) 0

Ferencvaros (HUN) 4 (Varga 8-pen, 11, Kady 53, Cisse 74) Malmo (SWE) 1 (Botheim 18-pen)

Midtjylland (DEN) 1 (Collins 48-og) Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) 2 (Larsson 7, Marmoush 57-pen)

Nice (FRA) 1 (Bouanani 83) Rangers (SCO) 4 (Cerny 35, Diomande 38, Igamane 45+3, 54)

Twente (NED) 0 Union St-Gilloise (BEL) 1 (Fuseini 11)

FCSB (ROM) 0 Olympiakos (GRE) 0

Uefa Conference League matchday four results on Thursday:

Astana (KAZ) 1 (Kalaica 40) Vitoria Guimaraes (POR) 1 (Ramirez Diaz 89)

Molde (NOR) 0 APOEL (CYP) 1 (Laifis 41)

Heidenheim (GER) 0 Chelsea (ENG) 2 (Nkunku 51, Mudryk 86)

Cercle Brugge (BEL) 2 (Efekele 40, Magnee 90) Hearts (SCO) 0

The New Saints (WAL) 0 Djurgarden (SWE) 1 (Gulliksen 41)

St Gallen (SUI) 2 (Cisse 31, Konietzke 65) Backa Topola (SRB) 2 (Pantovic 40, 53)

Panathinaikos (GRE) 1 (Toivio 33-og) HJK Helsinki (FIN) 0

FK Borac (BIH) 2 (Despotovic 82, Skorup 89) LASK (AUT) 1 (Berisha 51)

Celje (SLO) 3 (Zec 7, Nieto 53, Dieguez 80-og) Jagiellonia Bialystok (POL) 3 (Pululu 34, Imaz 70, Hansen 78)

Dinamo Minsk (BLR) 1 (Adeola 13) Copenhagen (DEN) 2 (Elyounoussi 6, Diks 55-pen)

Noah (ARM) 0 Vikingur Reykjavik (ISL) 0

Fiorentina (ITA) 3 (Kouame 38, Goldar 52-og, Martinez Quarta 72) Pafos (CYP) 2 (Jairo 68, Jaja 87)

Rapid Vienna (AUT) 1 (Cvetkovic 9) Shamrock Rovers (IRL) 1 (Kenny 55)

Omonoia Nicosia (CYP) 0 Legia Warsaw (POL) 3 (Morishita 17, Szczepaniak 77, Kakoullis 85-og)

Olimpija (SVN) 1 (Durdov 67) Larne (NIR) 0

Lugano (SUI) 2 (Mahou 6, Doumbia 86) Gent (BEL) 0

Mlada Boleslav (CZE) 2 (Vojta 51, Vydra 54) Real Betis (ESP) 1 (Lo Celso 17)

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