So, how on earth did we get here?
Liverpool in a Champions League final sounds about right, given their prestigious history in the competition and as a club in general, but Tottenham? Really? Is this really happening?
You can get your bottom dollar it's happening. The north Londoners will take on the Reds on Saturday at Wanda Metropolitano in what will surely be one of the Champions League finals for the ages.
Liverpool have had a wacky ride of it, but Tottenham's run has been absolutely bonkers. Relive it, in all its glory here.
Tottenham's turnaround in the Champions League has been remarkable.
— BT Sport (@btsport) April 30, 2019
2-1 vs PSV (W)
1-0 vs Inter (W)
1-1 vs Barcelona (D)
3-0 vs Dortmund (W)
0-1 vs Dortmund (W)
1-0 vs Man City (W)
4-3 vs Man City (L)
Credit must go to Pochettino and his troops pic.twitter.com/s8sjY2J7ER
Inter 2-1 Tottenham - 19/09/2018
Group B - San Siro
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is a trait somewhat synonymous with Tottenham, so what happened at San Siro in September didn't shock too many.
Still though, Icardi's goal was a cracker.
Bats*** Crazy Rating: 6/10
Tottenham 2-4 Barcelona - 03/10/18
Group B - Wembley
Now this was a fabulous game, filled with brilliant goals, hapless goalkeeping and some less than desirable defending.
Hugo Lloris rushed off his line in the second minute, leaving Philippe Coutinho to hammer into an empty net, Ivan Rakitic scored a sumptuous volley and Lionel Messi did Lionel Messi things. Harry Kane's goal wasn't too shabby either.
Bats*** Crazy Rating: 7/10
PSV 2-2 Tottenham - 24/10/18
Group B - Philips Stadion
Bats*** Crazy Rating: 8/10
Tottenham 2-1 PSV - 06/11/18
Group B - Wembley
Again, Tottenham fell behind early on here and put their fans through the wringer. However, a trend of scoring late goals in the Champions League started at Wembley as Kane stepped up.
it took Spurs over an hour to equalise through the England captain after De Jong's second minute opener and they finally managed to secure their first win of the European campaign when a Kane header took about 50 million deflections and bounced in.
Bats*** Crazy Rating: 8/10
Tottenham 1-0 Inter - 28/11/18
Group B - Wembley
A pretty even contest, Tottenham having a slither more possession and Inter looking threatening on the break, but yet again a late goal kept Tottenham in the hunt.
Christian Eriksen came off the bench to shoot high into the roof of the net after Moussa Sissoko's driving run and Dele Alli's flick. Not particularly crazy, just an evening filled with unbearable tension and dread.
Bats*** Crazy Rating: 4/10
Barcelona 1-1 Tottenham - 11/12/18
Group B - Camp Nou
A very interesting evening. Spurs needed to match or better Inter's result to qualify for the knockout stages, but the task seemed beyond them given they had to play Barca at Camp Nou while Inter were hosting PSV.
Barca and PSV both scored early before Lucas and Mauro Icardi equalised for their respective teams, both games finishing 1-1. Spurs still owe Barca something of a debt, with Ernesto Valverde deciding on the night to use Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez as substitutes. Cheers Nesty.
Bats*** Crazy Rating: 9/10
Tottenham 3-0 Borussia Dortmund - 13/02/19
Round of 16 1st Leg - Wembley
Borussia Dortmund visit Wembley in mid February, and nobody really gives Tottenham a chance. It's all 'Jadon Sancho this', 'Axel Witsel that'. Throw in that they're leading the Bundesliga at the time and Tottenham might as well not show up.
Spurs did look out of their depth in the first half, but then Jan Vertonghen decided to go a bit GOAT at left back, setting up Son Heung-min's volley before latching on to Serge Aurier's whipped cross with a volley of his own. Llorente nods in late on. 3-0. 3-0! The stuff of dreams.
Bats*** Crazy Rating: 8/10
Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Tottenham - 05/03/19
Round of 16 2nd Leg - Westfalenstadion
Every Spurs fan is worried about conceding early on in Germany for the return leg of the round of 16, but it doesn't happen.
Instead, Hugo Lloris has a blinder with seven saves, Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sanchez are solid as rocks, and Harry Kane nets in the 48th minute to put the tie to bed. It's probably the only time in the whole tournament Spurs fans haven't felt the slightest bit queasy.
Bats*** Crazy Rating: 4/10
Tottenham 1-0 Manchester City - 09/04/19
Quarter Final 1st Leg - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Please don't draw City.
In the Champions League curtain raiser at Tottenham's new stadium, Lloris saves a penalty after Danny Rose handles in the area, the decision given after consultation with VAR.
Spurs are being clearly outplayed and, to make matters worse, Kane limps down the tunnel after colliding with Fabian Delph. City continue to dominate, but then Son pops up late on, latching on to Eriksen's pass, keeping it in play, shuffling it on to his left foot before hammering through Ederson. Tottenham beat City and keep a clean sheet. That's pretty mad, right?
Bats*** Crazy Rating: 7/10
Manchester City 4-3 Tottenham - 17/04/19
Quarter Final 2nd Leg - Etihad Stadium
Errr, yeah, this one was pretty amazing. It's too much of an emotional rollercoaster, even now, to properly dissect what happened at the Etihad that night, so here are the scorers from that night.
- 4th minute: Raheem Sterling (1-1)
- 7th minute: Son Heung-min (1-2*)
- 10th minute:
Bats*** Crazy Rating: 10/10
Tottenham 0-1 Ajax - 30/04/19
Semi Final 1st Leg - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Injuries and suspensions are really starting to hit Tottenham hard now, and it shows in a limp and disappointing loss against Ajax, now everyone's favourite second team after triumphs over Real Madrid and Juventus.
Sissoko comes off the bench and stops Frenkie de Jong from mugging off the whole Spurs team for the entire game, but Ajax look slick and claim a clean sheet without looking too troubled.
Bats*** Crazy Rating: 5/10
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham - 08/05/19
Semi Final 2nd Leg - Amsterdam Arena
Matthijs de Ligt, the giant baby and incredible centre back, heads past Lloris in the fifth minute. All hope has faded. Hakim Ziyech smashes in a stonker half an hour later.
I guess that's that, then.
Oh, hello. Ten minutes after the restart Lucas Moura streaks through the middle after nice work from Danny Rose and Dele Alli and finishes calmly past Andre Onana. Maybe, just maybe.
OH, HELLO. Just four minutes later, Llorente inexplicably fires at Onana from about two feet out. But Lucas, like the world's leading futsal star, keeps the ball on a string after Onana and Lasse Schone mess things up. He zips past defenders with the ball stuck to his feet before striking through De Jong's legs.
Just over half an hour filled with nail-biting tension ensues. Vertonghen hits the bar and has a scrambled effort cleared off the line, all in the space of about five seconds. Lloris has to save from Ziyech.
The 95th minute. The ball is pumped forward. Llorente wins his duel with De Ligt. A defender slips. Alli flicks into Moura.
Moura. Moura. MOURA!!!
Yeah, that game was pretty...exciting.
Bats*** Crazy Rating: 10/10
All in all, Tottenham have been very fun to watch in the Champions League this season, so let's hope they give the competition a good send off until next year with another 10/10 rating on the crazy barometer in their clash with Liverpool.
Source : 90min