UEFA Cup, Tottenham 3-2 Braga... Second Leg

Brilliant Berbatov sends Spurs into last eight

Tottenham Hotspur FC can look forward to their first UEFA Cup quarter-final appearance since 1985 after a second-leg victory over SC Braga inspired by the brilliance of Dimitar Berbatov. The €16m striker scored two first-half goals and created the third for Steed Malbranque as Tottenham recovered from the shock of conceding an early goal to secure a 3-2 triumph on the night and 6-4 aggregate success.

Having won in Portugal last week, Spurs had the worst possible start after Tom Huddlestone headed past Radek Cerny. But Spurs were soon back in front as Berbatov scored with a right-footed flick and then a quite superb volley.

Andrade Joao Amaral's arrowed free-kick briefly threatened a shock, before Berbatov's pass freed Steed Malbranque, who flicked the ball past Paulo Jorge.

Spurs have now scored 23 times in seven games and Martin Jol's side gave their fans another three goals to savour. The pick was Berbatov's breathtaking volley, though the passes that made the first and third goals were equally eye-catching.

Wednesday's victory also means Spurs have won all eight games they have played in the Uefa Cup this season as they bid to win the tournament they last won in 1984. That outstanding record momentarily came under threat when Braga took a surprise lead after Huddlestone headed into his own goal following Amaral's curling free-kick.

Tottenham had dominated the game up to that point but even conceding that goal failed to dim Spurs' quixotic spirit. If Berbatov's goals showcased his exquisite finishing skills, the Bulgarian was quick to credit the role played by first Robbie Keane and then Huddlestone in setting him up.

Keane was surrounded by four Braga defenders but the Irishman's flick beat them all as Berbatov made a run to the left of his striking partner. The pass deserved a goal and Berbatov did not disappoint, beating Jorge with a measured shot hit with the outside of his right foot.

Huddlestone had looked distraught after his own goal, but his demeanour improved immeasurably when his quick thinking from a free-kick provided the pass for Spurs' second goal. Huddlestone's flighted pass was quickly chested down by Berbatov who swivelled to volley past Jorge with a stupendous strike.

Berbatov and Keane had chances to extend Spurs' lead before the interval, but neither striker was able to find the net. Just before the hour Braga's hopes of pulling off a remarkable win were revived when Amaral thumped a free-kick past Cerny.

But for a third time in the game Braga had no answer to Berbatov, as the Bulgarian arced a pass over the Portuguese defence to find Malbranque who slipped the ball past Jorge.

Tottenham: Cerny, Stalteri, Dawson, Chimbonda, Young-Pyo Lee, Lennon (Ghaly 81), Huddlestone, Zokora, Malbranque, Keane (Defoe 66), Berbatov.
Subs Not Used: Alnwick, Tainio, Mido, Taarabt, Charlie Lee.

Booked: Berbatov, Malbranque.

Goals: Berbatov 28, 42, Malbranque 76.

Braga: Paulo Santos, Luis Filipe, Paulo Jorge, Rodriguez (Nem 40), Carlos Fernandes, Frechaut, Madrid, Joao Amaral, Joao Pinto (Cesinha 74), Ze Carlos (Maciel 74), Wender.
Subs Not Used: Dani Mallo, Castanheira, Ricardo Chaves, Bruno Gama.

Booked: Joao Amaral, Joao Pinto, Luis Filipe.

Goals: Huddlestone 24 og, Joao Amaral 61.

UEFA Cup, second leg. Tottenham 3-2 Braga goals video:

FA Cup, Chelsea v Spurs preview

Chelsea captain John Terry could feature for Chelsea in Sunday's FA Cup quarter final clash with Spurs.

Terry was knocked out during the Carling Cup final win over Arsenal in a sickening, accidental clash with Abou Diaby and seemed to be seriously injured.

But after a few weeks rest he has been training with the first team and reckons he could make the weekend match.

"I am aiming towards Sunday," Terry said.

His manager Jose Mourinho was also optimistic that his skipper would return, although added that the decision would be left with medical staff:

"He is training normally," Mourinho said. "He is doing everything like everyone else, he is heading the ball - so if it is my choice, I would say yes. But it is not my choice. I have to wait for a final report from the medical side and they will make that decision. But yes, I want him to play."

Joe Cole is also absent with a fractured metarsal, otherwise Chelsea have a full squad available with the exception of the suspended John Obi Mikel.

Key Tottenham defender Ledley King is out for the season with his foot injury, and Martin Jol is not happy.

"He's already been out for two months," Jol said. "I thought a couple of weeks ago it would be maybe one or two weeks more, but on the scans you can still see the bruises on both feet."

Spurs could ring the changes after the 3-2 UEFA Cup win at Braga, with Jermain Defoe, Jermaine Jenas and Hossam Ghaly all in line to start although Jenas is an injury doubt with a groin strain. Robbie Keane is suspended after losing his appeal against a straight red for handling on the line during the 4-1 against Bolton two weeks ago. Benoit Assou-Ekotto is also out after an operation

UEFA cup, Braga 2-3 Tottenham

Keane's timely double puts Spurs in control

Tottenham have one foot in the Uefa Cup quarter-finals after a 3-2 win away to Sporting Braga, but the Premiership side will be frustrated that they hadn't wrapped up the tie further.

Aaron Lennon fed Keane to smash Spurs in front from the edge of the area and Steed Malbranque followed up another Lennon shot to make it 2-0. Paulo Jorge pulled one back after Paul Robinson saved his penalty and Ze Carlos headed home a late leveller.

But Keane had the final word, running clear to score an injury-time winner.

Tottenham Spurs outclassed Braga and probably should have been a few goals up in the first half, but had to wait until after the break before taking the lead through Robbie Keane.

Berbatov poked the ball just wide in the 16th minute, and then tested Santos thrice more in a first half that was all Tootenham. Robbie Keane joined in on the act, forcing another save out of Santos as the game went into the break. However, the game burst into a flurry of goals after the break, as Robbie Keane opened the floodgates by smashing in a delightful Aaron Lennon chip.

Spurs doubled their lead in the 72nd minute, when Lennon produced more magic to force a save out of Santos, but Steed Malbranque was at hand to crash in the reboun.

Braga were given hope when Diego went down under a challenge from Anthony Gardner in the area four minutes later. Paulo Jorge's penalty was pushed away by Robinson but the same player turned in the loose ball. Then, on 81 minutes, Braga grabbed an unlikely equaliser as Zé Carlos headed in Castanheira's free-kick. Yet there was still more drama as Didier Zokora's pass to Keane split the Braga defence two minutes into added time and the striker rolled a shot under Santos for the decider.

Braga: Paulo Santos, Luis Filipe, Paulo Jorge, Rodriguez, Carlos Fernandes, Joao Amaral, Joao Pinto (Maciel 80), Castanheira, Bruno Gama (Cesinha 69), Ze Carlos, Wender (Diego 69).
Subs Not Used: Dani Mallo, Nem, Paito, Ricardo Chaves.

Goals: Paulo Jorge 76, Ze Carlos 81.

Tottenham: Robinson, Chimbonda, Dawson, Gardner, Young-Pyo Lee, Lennon, Tainio (Huddlestone 74), Zokora, Malbranque, Berbatov, Keane.
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Stalteri, Ghaly, Defoe, Taarabt, Charlie Lee.

Booked: Berbatov, Chimbonda.

Goals: Keane 57, Malbranque 72, Keane 90.

UEFA Cup, Braga 2-3 Tottenham goals Videos:

Jol planning Spurs dynasty

Martin Jol believes he can emulate Sir Alex Ferguson's success at Manchester United if he is allowed enough time to finish developing his young squad.

For the first time in Jol's two-and-a-half-year reign, serious questions have been raised about his ability to turn Tottenham into consistent challengers for major honours.

A dispiriting run of six league games without a win, combined with a League Cup semi-final exit against Arsenal, has put the Dutchman under pressure to ensure his side advance to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a win at Fulham on Sunday.

But, while sections of the club's demanding fanbase are growing disenchanted, Jol is not concerned about his job security because he believes his squad's blend of youth and experience is close to blossoming.

All he wants to be given is a chance to reap the rewards in the same way that Ferguson and Arsene Wenger were at United and Arsenal.

"I have no fear about getting sacked," said Jol.

"To be honest I would love to be here in a few years time and do a Ferguson or a Wenger."
"I feel we are capable of doing that. We have got good young players and experienced players."

"We are not as good as I would like yet, not like Arsenal or Liverpool. But I feel it is only a matter of two or three players."

"Last year we changed six or seven players. Then we did the same this year. I feel we are close. It is only a few little pieces."

"Thierry Henry has done unbelievable things at Arsenal and you need players like that."

"We have Adel Taarabt coming from France. He is amazing on the ball, like Zinedine Zidane. In a couple of years he could be one of the best players in the league."

Jol knows the expectations at Spurs mean any slump in form quickly becomes a crisis rather than the blip it might be seen as elsewhere.

But the former uncompromising player for English side West Brom is adamant that pressure only drives him on.

"The only thing I hate is when the supporters are not happy with us," Jol said. "The burden we have got is that everyone is talking about trophies."

"The 1991 team that won the FA Cup with Terry Venables are seen as legends here. They only won three of their last 24 matches, but because they won the Cup people say they are legends."

"There is more pressure because it is Spurs and we are expected to do well. It is a big compliment because clubs like Manchester City and Aston Villa don't have that."
"Everybody expects more of us and I hate not fulfilling their hope and expectation. I want to be successful because it is an addiction."

While Fulham boss Chris Coleman would love to have the transfer budget Jol enjoys, he is well aware that making big money signings can lead to unrealistic expectations.

Coleman said: "Martin has brought in a lot of good young players for a lot of money and that has inevitably raised expectations"

"But the pressure is always on managers if they don't buy the right players.
"From our point of view, we have never had that much money to spend so we have to get it right first time."

"We have to be very methodical in how we go about signing people because we can't afford to make many mistakes".
"I can't just sign a bad player, go back to the chairman and ask for another two million pounds because it doesn't work like that at this club."

Ferguson: Spurs Out Of Order

Manchester United cantered to a 4-0 win, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty putting them on the way. Cristiano Ronaldo won the penalty himself when he went down under minimal contact from a Steed Malbranque challenge.

Tottenham decided to show the controversial incident again at half-time on the big screen, something clubs are not supposed to do under Premier League rules.

"Tottenham were out of order showing replays at half-time of the penalty award that brought Ronaldo his latest goal," Ferguson Said.

"Certainly it was a close call and therefore controversial, but I don't think a club should risk inflaming the home support during a game.

"Players get booked for over-celebrating a goal in the face of rival supporters, but Tottenham's decision was far more provocative."

Tottenham 2-2 Arsenal (1st Leg)

Carling Cup: Spurs Mess Up Golden Opportunity;

Julio Baptista went from zero to hero for Arsenal as they held Tottenham in an absorbing Carling Cup semi-final first-leg tie at White Hart Lane. Dimitar Berbatov gave Spurs the lead heading in after a mix-up between Manuel Almunia and Kolo Toure.

Berbatov injured his groin and soon had to be replaced by Robbie Kean with Jol electing to revert to a 4-5-1 formation with Jermain Defoe up front on his own. The tactic seemed to be working when Tom Huddlestone's free-kick was kicked into his own net by Julio Baptista as the Brazilian tried to clear the ball.

Match Highlights:

Spurs had the tie in their hands, but will surely be left wondering why they didn't push home their advantage from this point. They were fortunate to go in at half-time with their 2-0 lead intact but in the second half their luck ran out as they were outclassed by a weakened Arsenal side.

Although the first-team players of Eboue and Hleb were introduced and the duo helped further unsettle Spurs Arsenal eventually equalized thanks to two goals by Baptista, who now has six in his last two games in the competition. The second goal was a mess from Spurs' point of view as goalkeeper Paul Robinson inexplicably ran out of his goal to close the angle on an advancing Justin Hoyte, but the youngster just had to cross the ball to Baptista for a simple tap-in.

The two teams will meet again at the Emirates next week when it will be well and truly advantage the home team: Arsenal.

Post match Interviews:

Spurs fans owns Arsenal player Pires. Pretty rude, eh?