Tottenham 2-2 Roma: Spurs face unexpected draw at home as Hummels nets late goal

Game is over and the final score is Tottenham 2-2 Roma. Here is the match report.

Match Report

After the thrilling raid on Manchester City, the prospect of a home fixture against dysfunctional Roma came with laced with peril for those with Tottenham in their blood.

The Italians have been in disarray this season, summoning Claudio Ranieri from retirement at 73 to salvage their season and the presence of the man who orchestrated Leicester City’s miracle of 2016 triggered awkward flashbacks.

Spurs chased Leicester all the way in that campaign and somehow finished up in third and here was Ranieri back to foil them again.

Ange Postecoglou’s side were without number one goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario for the first time since he broke an ankle in the 4-0 win at City, but Fraser Forster deputised ably.

He produced a brilliant save to deny Gianluca Mancini in stoppage time only for Mats Hummels to level from the corner which followed.

Tottenham had been blessed by VAR, helping them into an early lead from a penalty scored by Heung-min Son and then ruling out three Roma goals.

The Italians struck the bar as they pushed for an equaliser in the second half.

Tottenham hit the woodwork three times in all but must have thought Brennan Johnson’s ninth of the season had won it.

The night had started poorly for Hummels, the 35-year-old central defender who was released by Borussia Dortmund at the end of last season and picked up by Roma on a free in September.

Hummels scored an own goal on his debut, a 5-1 defeat at Fiorentina and did not play again under Ivan Juric, who was sacked in November after only a dozen games in charge. On this, his first start for his new club, Hummels conceded a penalty inside two minutes.

He seemed off the pace arriving a fraction late into a challenge on Pape Matar Sarr who needed little encouragement to tumble over. Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg waved the appeals away at first, only to be referred to his monitor by the VAR.

Son converted once the decision had eventually been confirmed, only his fourth Spurs goal of the season. It ought to have settled them down and yet did not. The game rebounded from one end of the pitch to the other with little discernible order.

Fraser Forster, making only his fifth appearance in 18 months, reacted well when needed for the first time, saving low at his near post from Paulo Dybala but was soon beaten. Evan N’Dicka glanced in a header off the bar from a from a free-kick.

It may have been a different goalkeeper but Tottenham were no more secure defending the high ball at set-pieces.

The Italians thought they had the lead when Stephan El Shaarawy connected sweetly with a flick by Dybala and fizzed a volley into the net from just inside the penalty area. The ball was on the centre spot with both teams lined up to restart by the time the VAR check came through and the goal was ruled out for offside.

Angelino made a vital block on his own line to deny Johnson before the Spurs winger found the net in typical style, arriving at pace to rattle in his ninth goal of the season, a crisp finish to a low cross from Dejan Kulusevski.

Postecoglou’s team established a little more control before half time and might easily have scored a third before the interval. Kulusevski hit a post and Son crashed the rebound over. Then Roma keeper Mile Svilar made a good save to deny Son.

They broke four on two early in the second half without making int count. Hummels recovered to make a sliding challenge as Kulusevski took aim.

Roma, who lost Dybala at half-time, were stronger in the second half, when they had two more goals disallowed for offside in quick succession.

First Artem Dovbyk strayed a yard offside before his cross was tapped in by Manu Kone. Then a flag went up as Dovbyk applied the finish to a low cross from the right. This one was tighter but the technology backed the assistant referee.

Pedro Porro deflected an effort by Angelino against the bar. Kone slid a good chance wide form the edge of the penalty box and, in between, Porro clipped the bar from a free-kick with goalkeeper Svilar well beaten.

Solanke became the third Spurs player to hit the frame of the goal, heading against bar at the near post.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

5' Penalty Goal! Tottenham 1-0 Roma (Heung-min Son)

14' Highlight from Tottenham vs Roma

16' Match Event for Tottenham vs Roma

20' GOAL! Tottenham 1-1 Roma (Evan Ndicka)

22' Match Event for Tottenham vs Roma

27' Highlight from Tottenham vs Roma

29' Highlight from Tottenham vs Roma

33' GOAL! Tottenham 2-1 Roma (Brennan Johnson)

36' Highlight from Tottenham vs Roma

41' Match Event for Tottenham vs Roma

48' Match Event for Tottenham vs Roma

53' Highlight from Tottenham vs Roma

56' Highlight from Tottenham vs Roma

60' Match Event for Tottenham vs Roma

61' Highlight from Tottenham vs Roma

62' Match Event for Tottenham vs Roma

67' Match Event for Tottenham vs Roma

70' Highlight from Tottenham vs Roma

81' Highlight from Tottenham vs Roma

87' Highlight from Tottenham vs Roma

91' GOAL! Tottenham 2-2 Roma (Mats Hummels)

Line-ups

Tottenham XI: Fraser Forster, Son, Ben Davies, Solanke, Bentancur, Kulusevski, Pedro Porro, Brennan Johnson, Pape Matar Sarr, Radu Drăgușin, Archie Gray

Subs: Werner, Maddison, Whiteman, Bissouma, Austin, Destiny Udogie, Lucas Bergvall, Callum Olusesi, maeson king, Malachi Hardy, Lucá Williams-Barnett

Roma XI: Hummels, El Shaarawy, Paredes, Dybala, Angelino, Zeki Çelik, Artem Dovbyk, Mile Svilar, G. Mancini, N'Dicka, Manu Koné

Subs: Ryan, Cristante, Pellegrini, Alexis Saelemaekers, Enzo Le Fée, Nicola Zalewski, Saud Abdulhamid, Tommaso Baldanzi, Matías Soulé, Niccolò Pisilli, Renato Marin, Buba Sangaré