An entertaining contest tilted this way and that, neither side seeming to know how to defend, and Roma earned a deserved draw when Mats Hummels made it 2-2 in stoppage time.
For Claudio Ranieri, back in London and out of retirement, it was a joyous moment. He had spent the night bouncing around his technical area, his struggling team's shoddy finishing driving him to distraction. Roma, whose hopes of reaching the Europa League knockouts remain in doubt, had trailed to a Son Heung-Min penalty and Brennan Johnson's strike. But Spurs could not control the game and Ange Postecoglou's side still have work to do.
Exceptional in demolishing Manchester City last weekend and downright dozy in losing to Ipswich Town in their previous home game, it was impossible to know what Spurs would produce against opponents lying 12th in Serie A and already on to their third manager of the season.
Yet with Postecoglou making only four changes before the visit of Fulham on Sunday, clues as to what kind of night this would be soon materialised. A second-minute attack led by Dejan Kulusevski cut Roma apart and although Glenn Nyberg waved away cries for a penalty when Hummels clipped the Spurs midfielder, the referee changed his mind after checking the pitchside monitor.
This story is from the November 29, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the November 29, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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