Ferdinand labels Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg winner for Spurs phenomenal

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Rio Ferdinand has told BT Sport (broadcast on 1/11; 22:14) that the strike from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg for Tottenham Hotspur’s winner against Marseille was phenomenal, with the defender doing all he could to make the chance difficult for the Dane.

Spurs are through to the knockout stages of the Champions League. But they did not make life easy for themselves in Stade Velodrome.

Tottenham knew that a win or draw would see them through. But defeat would see Antonio Conte’s side miss out. And they gave their fans another good scare, going behind just before half-time to a Chancel Mbemba goal.

Hojbjerg strike phenomenal

Clement Lenglet equalised. And Tottenham looked to be in control during the second-half. Nevertheless, the situation was very precarious as stoppage-time loomed.

Thankfully for Tottenham, Hojbjerg rifled a thunderous shot into the back of the net after being played through on goal. And Ferdinand suggested that it was a moment of brilliance from the 27-year-old.

“And Hojbjerg, who hit the crossbar earlier in the game, this is a phenomenal strike. The defender actually does quite well, does as much as he can pushing him away from goal,” he told BT Sport.

Hojbjerg deserves enormous credit for finding a way to burst through with serious pace to score the stoppage-time winner. That determination tells you everything about the hardworking midfielder.

But they needed to find several more gears after the break. Tottenham were so poor during the first-half. And while they came from 2-0 down at the weekend, supporters must have feared that an exit was on the cards at half-time as they went a goal behind.

They have now conceded the first goal in their last five games. So they can hardly have any complaints with the fact that they have only won two of those fixtures.

Thankfully, that lacklustre start did not come back to haunt Tottenham. They now have a Champions League knockout stage campaign to look forward to. And actually, they remain in touch in the Premier League.

But something surely needs to now change.