Monaco rubber-stamped first place in Group E and a ticket to the UEFA Champions League round 16 thanks to a 2-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur, who must now concentrate on finishing third.
French goalie Hugo Lloris denied Radamel Falcao’s spot-kick but could not rescue Tottenham Hotspur’s Champions League campaign as Mauricio Pochettino’s men slipped to a 2-1 defeat at Monaco on Tuesday.
The result guaranteed Monaco a berth to the knockout stage as Group E winners alongside with Leverkusen who had earlier drawn 1-1 with CSKA Moscow, but sent Spurs packing as the English Premiership side needs a point against CSKA at Wembley next month to finish third and qualify for the Europa League.
Lloris denied former Manchester United and Chelsea striker Falcao’s spot-kick in the first half and made a number of superb saves but second-half goals from Djibril Sidibe and Thomas Lemar gave Monaco a deserved victory.
Harry Kane offered Tottenham temporary hope when he equalized from the penalty spot but the visitors simply never found the spark required to resurrect their faltering fortunes in Europe.
Source: Xinhua/NewsGhana.com.gh
