Tottenham’s Champions League qualification hopes hang in the balance after they were denied a last-gasp win over Sporting Lisbon.
Spurs, who had laboured against their Portuguese opponents, thought they had won it – and booked their place in the knockout stages – with the last kick of the game as Harry Kane swept home from close range, but after a lengthy VAR check the England captain was ruled offside and it ended 1-1.
For a long time it looked like Spurs were going to lose as former striker Marcus Edwards, who joined them as an eight-year-old, put Sporting on course for a famous win with his first-half goal.
Rodrigo Bentancur levelled in the 80th minute before the late drama, which saw Tottenham boss Antonio Conte sent off when Kane’s effort was ruled out.
Tottenham defender Matt Doherty told BT Sport: "I think you can see from the celebrations we thought we won it. I don't really know what happened at the end.
“I thought because it went backwards and hit a defender it was a different phase of play. I'll have to look at the rule book. A few of us don't have a clue what happened.
“If we're being honest we didn't play that well. They nullified us in the first half and deserved to be ahead.
“We're top of the group. It's not how we wanted the night to go but it's still in our hands.
“I think it's clear to see we want to play like we did in the second half for 90 minutes. We know we're capable of doing it but it's what we're struggling to do.”
Victory would have assured Spurs of their place in the last 16, but now next week’s trip to Marseille is full of jeopardy, though a draw will be enough to send Conte’s men through and a win would seal their position as Group D winners.
That will not be an easy task considering their abject first-half performance and the fact they have a poor record away from home in Europe over the last few seasons.
Spurs not only had qualification on their agenda, they were also looking to respond to successive Premier League defeats, but endured a tough start.
Sporting, who won the reverse fixture 2-0 in the second round of matches, fired two warning shots inside the opening 20 minutes as Sebastian Coates put a free header from a corner wide before Paulinho flashed an effort just over after a fine cross from Pedro Porro.
The visitors took a deserved lead in the 22nd minute and there was no surprise who scored it.
Edwards, who left Spurs in 2019 after failing to build on that initial promise, silenced the home crowd when he drilled in from 25 yards, though questions will be asked about Cristian Romero, who backed off and allowed the shot, and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who looked to be beaten too easily.
The rest of the first half was not much better and Sporting had the ball in the back of the net again four minutes before the break, but Coates deliberately handled from a corner and was booked.
It was not difficult for Conte’s side to improve after the break and they laid siege on the Sporting goal in the opening 10 minutes of the second half.
They had three efforts in quick succession as Antonio Adan saved Eric Dier’s volley, Romero had a goal-bound shot blocked and Matt Doherty fired over.
Spurs were breaking the lines in a way they could not in the first half and Son Heung-min again tested Adan with a fierce shot that was parried, while Dier headed on to the roof of the net.
Sporting had two brilliant chances to end the contest but Lloris denied Fatawu Issahaku when he was through on goal and then, after Lloris kept out Porro’s effort, Flavio Nazinho embarrassingly missed an open net from the rebound.
His misery was compounded as Spurs finally levelled with 10 minutes remaining.
Adan had been superb with his aerial domination, but he missed an Ivan Perisic corner and Bentancur headed into an open net.
Dier missed a sitter to score as he headed wide from close range and then Bentancur fired over.
But there was to be late drama and Spurs thought they had won it after Kane rammed home from close range when Emerson Royal’s header fell into his path.
However, wild scenes of celebration were cut short as VAR ruled there was an offside and ecstasy turned to agony.
Conte lost his cool and was sent off for good measure as Spurs head to France next week with work still to do.
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
The%20specs
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Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20S24%20ULTRA
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
