Van de Ven scores wonder solo goal as Spurs hit four

Ten-man Tottenham produced a dream Champions League performance, including a wonder goal from centre-half Micky van de Ven, as they thrashed Copenhagen to maintain their unbeaten start in the competition.

Goals from Brennan Johnson and Wilson Odobert put Spurs two up and looked to have killed the game, before Johnson was shown a straight red card for sliding in and catching Marcos Lopez's ankle.

But even though they only had 10 players on the pitch, Van de Ven scored one of the goals of the season. He picked up the ball inside his own half, on the edge of his own penalty area and stormed down the pitch, dribbling past five Copenhagen players before providing a finish any centre-forward would have been delighted with.

Spurs had been booed off the pitch by their supporters following their dismal 1-0 loss to Chelsea at the weekend, but fans were on their feet applauding throughout the second half as Joao Palhinha made it 4-0 when unmarked following good work from Cristian Romero.

And it nearly got even better for Tottenham, when they were awarded an injury-time penalty, only for Richarlison to fail to convert the chance by firing the spot-kick against the crossbar.

For Van de Ven, it was the perfect response after television cameras had caught him appearing to shun boss Thomas Frank when the Dane asked him and Djed Spence to acknowledge the Spurs fans at the end of the Chelsea game.

But, after apologies from both players on Monday, Van de Ven was named in the starting 11 and made a huge impact on this match.

The victory means Tottenham have eight points from their four Champions League games, with two wins and two draws. They play at reigning holders Paris St-Germain in their next game in the competition on 26 November.

At the halfway stage of the league phase, Tottenham are seventh and on course for a top-eight finish that would see them bypass the play-off round and jump straight into the last 16.

Analysis: Impressive display leaves Spurs fans much happier

Four days is clearly a long time in football. On Saturday, Spurs produced a weak display, with only one attempt on target as they fell to a tame loss to Chelsea, with pressure mounting on Frank.

But this reaction was exactly what both Spurs and Frank needed, with a jubilant home support clearly loving what they were seeing.

When the home side went down to 10 men around the hour-mark, most in the ground would have got nervous and expected a Copenhagen fightback.

Frank took off the superb Simons to strengthen the midfield by bringing on Joao Palhinha and it became a lesson in how to play with a man disadvantage, countering with pace and looking a threat every time they progressed.

In the end, the winning margin could have been wider with Richarlison, who had earlier hit the post, firing his 93rd-minute penalty against the underside of the crossbar.

Spurs opened the scoring in the 19th minute, pouncing on Gabriel Pereira's loose pass, which was collected by Rodrigo Bentancur and moved on to the excellent Simons.

He played a clever pass over the visiting defence and Johnson, who scored the only goal when Spurs beat Manchester United in the Europa League final to qualify for this tournament, kept his composure to go around the advancing goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski before calmly finishing.

Wilson Odobert added a second after Randal Kolo Muani had charged down a clearance from Kotarski, before Johnson's dismissal.

But the tension was lifted by Van de Ven's incredible individual effort, with Palhinha adding a fourth.

Tottenham fans had been unhappy with their home form which had seen them only pick up one point from their past three Premier League games, but this was a perfect way to get the supporters back on side.

Credit also must go to the Copenhagen fans, who created a superb atmosphere as they did not stop chanting, singing and bouncing, even though their team were handed a thrashing by a rampant Spurs outfit.

What's next for both sides?

Tottenham entertain Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday (12:30 GMT) and then, following the international break, play at fierce rivals and league leaders Arsenal on Sunday, 23 November (16:30 GMT)

Copenhagen, fourth in the Danish Superliga, return to domestic action with an away game at Velje on Sunday before a home game against Brondby.