Son Heung-min fires Tottenham to crucial win in Moscow

Son Heung-min grabbed a 71st-minute winner as Tottenham Hotspur beat CSKA Moscow 1-0 in the Champions League.

Tottenham, who fell to a 2-1 loss against Monaco last time out, dominated large swathes of the first half, with Dele Alli rattling the crossbar with 34 minutes gone.

CSKA improved during the second period, but it was Mauricio Pochettino’s men who continued to look the more threatening and they broke the deadlock with 71 minutes gone when Son latched on to Erik Lamela’s through ball and fired home.

The win leaves them on three points after two games, one point behind Monaco at the top of Group E after the French side grabbed a late equaliser against Bayer Leverkusen.

Tottenham’s home loss to Monaco on the opening matchday left them likely to need a win on the road to stand a chance of reaching the knockout stages. But, at the first time of asking Spurs have grabbed that away victory, out-classing CSKA Moscow despite the absence of five first-team regulars from the starting line-up.

It’s a sign of Spurs’ growing maturity as a squad that they were able to control a game held in daunting circumstances at a packed and raucous CSKA Arena, and Pochettino’s side now go into their double-header against Bayer Leverkusen ahead of the German club in the table thanks to Son’s timely strike.

Heung-min Son (Tottenham) – The South Korean was lively throughout and bagged yet another goal to continue his rich vein of form. It could have been more than one for Son, who curled a dangerous effort narrowly wide prior to his goal and was denied a second by a lunging challenge after getting on the end of another excellent Lamela through-ball.

Spurs: Lloris 7; Trippier 6, Alderweireld 8, Vertonghen 7, Davies 6; Wanyama 7, Alli 7; Lamela 8, Eriksen 7, Son 8; Janssen 6. Subs: N’Koudou 7, Winks 6.

CSKA: Akinfeev 5; Fernandes 7, V.Berezutski 6, Ignasevich 6, Schennikov 7; Golovin 6, Wernbloom 7; Tosic 5, Eremenko 6, Milanov 6; Traore 7. Subs: Berezutski 6, Natcho 6.

29’ – CHANCE – Eriksen's brilliant raking pass picks out the run of Alli in behind the CSKA defence, but the ball skids off the surface and the England man isn't able to control and set himself up for a golden chance to open the scoring. Alli holds his head in his hands - he knows what a great opportunity that was.

34’ – CROSSBAR – Alli and Eriksen produce some silky footwork to move Tottenham into a dangerous area and a poor clearance falls to the feet of the younger man, who rattles the crossbar with an excellent effort from range.

35’ – OFFSIDE – Eriksen's through-ball finds Janssen, who dinks a lovely finish over the goalkeeper from a tight angle to find the back of the net, only to be denied by the assistant's flag.

53’ – WIDE – A Lamela shot is blocked, but it falls kindly to the in-form Son, who wraps a shot inches wide of the far post. The chances continue to flow at both ends, but still the game is goalless.

71’ – GOAL! CSKA 0-1 Spurs: Lamela cuts open the CSKA defence with a probing through-ball that picks out Son and the in-form South Korean squeezes a shot under the goalkeeper to open the scoring for the visitors.

73’ – DENIED – Lamela again finds Son, but the goalscorer is closed down slightly better this time and Shchennikov makes a goal-saving sliding tackle to prevent the shot from point-blank range.

84’ – WIDE – Fernandes bursts into the box and drills a shot narrowly wide of Lloris' far post from a tight angle. The right-back seems to be playing as an additional forward, such is his high position up the park since Spurs' goal.

Son Heung-Min has scored 5 goals in 5 games for Spurs in all comps this season, as many as he did in his last 37 last season.

Son has now been directly involved in six out of the last nine goals Tottenham have scored (five goals, one assist).