Gareth Bale scored and assisted a Tottenham goal in the same game for the first time since 2013 as they beat Wolfsberger in the Europa League.
Bale crossed for Son Heung-min to head the opener and then cut inside and blasted home their second goal.
Lucas Moura added a fine solo goal before half-time in Budapest.
But Michael Liendl’s penalty gave Wolfsberger hope and Christopher Wernitznig hit the bar – before Carlos Vinicius probably killed the tie.
Spurs boss Jose Mourinho spoke beforehand about how much he wants to win the Europa League and named a strong team, although Harry Kane was left in London for fitness reasons.
They were excellent in the first half but were much less impressive after replacing Son with Vinicius at half-time.
Wolfsberger were limited opposition, sitting sixth in the Austrian league and in a European knockout game for the first time. The game had to be played six hours away in Budapest, Hungary because of Covid restrictions.
The second leg is next Thursday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Did Spurs fringe players impress?
Bale and Dele Alli were the notable starters in the line-up for Spurs. Mourinho said beforehand he was worried about the result and not individual performances of fringe players – but he would have been happy with what he saw in the first half.
Bale set up the opener when he received Matt Doherty’s pass before crossing for Son, who matched his personal goal tally of last season with 18.
That was Bale’s first assist for Spurs since April 2013 against Manchester City – before he left for Real Madrid.
Doherty picked out Bale again, but this time the Welshman cut on to his left foot and smashed a powerful effort past the goalkeeper, his fifth goal of a loan spell from Real.
When Moura beat several defenders on a mazy run to score Spurs’ third, it looked as if it could be a rout.
Alli looked in the mood too, with a brilliant nutmeg to create a shooting opportunity although he fired straight at the keeper.
But they looked much less fluent in the second half, with Bale and Alli more peripheral before being replaced.
Moussa Sissoko sloppily conceded a penalty which Liendl scored and the hosts looked more assured. Had Wernitznig’s powerful drive off the crossbar gone over the line instead of bouncing on it, it could have been a different tie.
But Vinicius most likely booked Spurs’ place in the next round when he stabbed home Erik Lamela’s flicked header late on.
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RZ Pellets WAC
Squad number31Player nameKofler
Squad number27Player nameNovak
Squad number22Player nameBaumgartner
Squad number44Player nameLochoshvili
Squad number4Player nameScherzer
Squad number19Player nameSprangler
Squad number30Player nameTaferner
Squad number10Player nameLiendl
Squad number24Player nameWernitznig
Squad number9Player nameJoveljic
Squad number11Player nameVizinger
Squad number2Player nameGiorbelidze
Squad number3Player nameHenriksson
Squad number6Player namePavelic
Squad number8Player nameDieng
Squad number17Player nameStratznig
Line-ups
RZ Pellets WAC
Formation 4-1-3-2
- 31Kofler
- 27NovakSubstituted forPavelicat 81′minutes
- 22Baumgartner
- 44Lochoshvili
- 4Scherzer
- 19SpranglerBooked at 62minsSubstituted forGiorbelidzeat 65′minutes
- 30TafernerSubstituted forHenrikssonat 45′minutes
- 10Liendl
- 24Wernitznig
- 9JoveljicSubstituted forDiengat 65′minutes
- 11VizingerSubstituted forStratznigat 45′minutes
Substitutes
- 2Giorbelidze
- 3Henriksson
- 5Peric
- 6Pavelic
- 8Dieng
- 15Rnic
- 16Leitgeb
- 17Stratznig
- 18Röcher
- 21Skubl
- 23Schöfl
- 29Kuttin
Tottenham
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Lloris
- 2Doherty
- 4Alderweireld
- 15Dier
- 33Davies
- 17SissokoBooked at 54minsSubstituted forHøjbjergat 78′minutesBooked at 81mins
- 8Winks
- 9BaleSubstituted forLamelaat 64′minutes
- 20AlliBooked at 42minsSubstituted forNdombeleat 78′minutes
- 27Lucas MouraSubstituted forBergwijnat 65′minutes
- 7Son Heung-MinSubstituted forAlves Moraisat 45′minutes
Substitutes
- 5Højbjerg
- 6D Sánchez
- 11Lamela
- 12Hart
- 23Bergwijn
- 25Tanganga
- 28Ndombele
- 41Whiteman
- 44Bowden
- 45Alves Morais
- 53Scarlett
- 55Lavinier
Live Text
Match ends, RZ Pellets WAC 1, Tottenham Hotspur 4.
Second Half ends, RZ Pellets WAC 1, Tottenham Hotspur 4.
Foul by Erik Lamela (Tottenham Hotspur).
Kai Stratznig (RZ Pellets WAC) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Offside, RZ Pellets WAC. Alexander Kofler tries a through ball, but Cheikhou Dieng is caught offside.
Foul by Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur).
Guram Giorbelidze (RZ Pellets WAC) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Goal! RZ Pellets WAC 1, Tottenham Hotspur 4. Carlos Vinícius (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Erik Lamela.
Attempt missed. Erik Lamela (Tottenham Hotspur) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg with a cross.
Attempt missed. Tanguy Ndombele (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top right corner. Assisted by Carlos Vinícius.
Offside, RZ Pellets WAC. Michael Liendl tries a through ball, but Cheikhou Dieng is caught offside.
Matt Doherty (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Guram Giorbelidze (RZ Pellets WAC).
Steven Bergwijn (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Dominik Baumgartner (RZ Pellets WAC).
Substitution, RZ Pellets WAC. Mario Pavelic replaces Michael Novak.
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Tottenham Hotspur) is shown the yellow card.
Attempt blocked. Luka Lochoshvili (RZ Pellets WAC) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Michael Liendl with a cross.
Corner, RZ Pellets WAC. Conceded by Toby Alderweireld.
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Tanguy Ndombele replaces Dele Alli.
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