Tottenham Hotspur survives Champions League Group D to qualify for the knockout round. The north London club beat Marseille 2-1 on the road and managed to finish first in the group ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt.

Spurs also entered the night in the top spot of the standings. Their group, along with Marseille, Frankfurt, and Sporting was the most competitive group of this season’s Champions League. Entering matchday six, all four teams could have qualified for the Champions League knockout rounds. Only two points separated the teams in the table.

Marseille started the night on the front foot as they essentially dominated Spurs in the first half. A late goal from Chancel Mbemba put the hosts ahead at the break. Spurs star Son Heung-Min was forced off the pitch prior to the goal because of a nasty head injury.

Tottenham, Frankfurt advance to Champions League knockout stage

In the other match of Group D, Sporting also took an early lead against Frankfurt. At the halftime breaks, Sporting and Marseille were in the two qualifying positions for the Champions league knockout phase. Spurs were third and Frankfurt were bottom at the time, which meant that if they would be out of Europe entirely if results held.

Nevertheless, Spurs fought back with two second half goals to top the group. Clement Lenglet scored early in the half, while Pierre-Emile Højbjerg netted the winner in extra time. The goal in the 94th minute meant that Spurs won the group.

Former Arsenal defender Sead Kolasinac missed an open header that would have at least given Marseille a point just a few minutes before the Højbjerg goal. However, the loss by the French team means that they are out of European play for the current campaign.

Likewise, Frankfurt also came back to score two goals in the second half. Daichi Kamada and Randal Kolo Muani netted their goals just 10 minutes apart from each other. The goals brought the German club off of the basement and into the Champions League knockout rounds.

PHOTO: IMAGO / PanoramiC