UEFA Europa League: Spurs hold on to secure vital away win in Germany

Son Heung-min’s brace added to an early James Maddison goal as Tottenham beat Hoffenheim 3-2 in the Europa League.

Tottenham put themselves in a strong position to finish inside the top eight of the Europa League table and qualify directly for the last 16 by beating Hoffenheim 3-2.

Spurs were in business inside four minutes in Germany, James Maddison latching onto Pedro Porro’s long pass and dispatching the ball into the roof of the net.

Maddison also played a key role in the second, stealing possession in the middle of the pitch and releasing Son, whose deflected effort bobbled into the back of the net.

Hoffenheim was awarded a penalty shortly after the hour mark, only for the decision to be overturned by a VAR review just as it was ready to be taken.

However, They pulled one back midway through the half when Anton Stach was on the end of a smart move to divert past goalkeeper Brandon Austin.

A nervous period followed for the visitors before their skipper, Son, had another say, drilling in a left-footed effort from inside the area.

That was not the end of the scoring. David Mokwa pulled one back for Hoffenheim with two minutes on the clock, but his side could not force an equalizer.

The result leaves the German side 28th in the table, with a play-off place unlikely, while Spurs are fourth and can seal qualification when they host IF Elfsborg next Thursday.

Son has not had the impact he would have liked at Tottenham this season, scoring just eight goals before tonight’s game, but he looked much more like his former self with two trademark goals.

The first, running onto Maddison’s pass and finishing, owed plenty to a lucky deflection, but the second was an authoritative finish from an angle inside the box.

The South Korean had three shots during the match, with none of his teammates managing more than one, and also led his side for touches inside the box (nine).

With a pass accuracy of 96.7% to his name, the highest of any starter on the pitch, this was much more like it from the South Korean.

Tottenham turned their attention to Premier League action as they hosted Leicester City, while Hoffenheim welcomed Frankfurt in a Bundesliga clash.