Tottenham Hotspur 3 - 2 Braga

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Wednesday Mar 14 2007 08:15

Dimitar Berbatov stole the headlines once again by firing home a superb brace against Braga to ensure Tottenham booked their place in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup.

Berbatov is proving to be one of the bargain buys of the season after taking his tally to 19 goals following his £10.9million move from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, and could prove all the difference in helping his side lift the trophy in Glasgow in May.

Martin Jol's side were always in pole position to qualify following their 3-2 advantage from the first leg, but they were made to sweat all the way after Tom Huddlestone's own goal had fired Braga into the lead.

But Berbatov struck twice before half-time to give Tottenham the upper hand and Steed Malbranque added a late third to ensure they kept alive their dreams of winning major silverware this season.

It looked as if a major upset could be on the cards when Braga opened the scoring after 24 minutes.Paul Stalteri fouled Arruda Wender on the edge of the box. Joao Andrade's free-kick picked out Huddlestone who somehow managed to head the ball past Radek Cerny and into the corner of the net.

But the home side quickly got back on level terms when man of the moment Berbatov snatched an equaliser for Tottenham on 28 minutes.

The Bulgaria international played a clever interchange with his strike partner Robbie Keane and made no mistake sliding the ball past Braga keeper Paulo Santos.

Berbatov is reported to be holding talks with the club over a new contract, and on the evidence of his current form, the club should be doing everything in their power to ensure he remains at White Hart Lane.

The prolific striker showed all his quality once again when he grabbed his second goal of the game in spectacular fashion on 42 minutes.

Huddlestone's free-kick was aimed into the path of Berbatov who took the ball on his chest before firing an unstoppable shot past Santos from the edge of the box.

Braga knew they faced an uphill struggle to turn the game around at this stage and almost fell further behind on 53 minutes.

Huddlestone's cross picked out Pascal Chimbonda whose close-range header flew inches past the post.

The Portuguese side refused to lie down though and were handed a major lifeline when they grabbed an equaliser on 61 minutes.

Andrade unleashed a powerful free-kick from the edge of the box which flew past Cerny and into the back of the net.

But Malbranque ensured Tottenham's name went into the hat for the last eight of the competition when he added the all-important third with 14 minutes left.

Malbranque raced towards the Braga box and played a neat interchange with Berbatov before striking the ball into the corner of the net to make it another memorable night for the north London side.

  • 90
    The ref has blown his whistle for full time.
  • 89
    The referee has booked Steed Malbranque.
  • 82
    Aaron Lennon is replaced by Hossam Ghaly.
  • 81
    The referee has booked Ã?ngelo Rodrigues Luis Filipe.
  • 76
    Goal!! Steed Malbranque scores for Tottenham.
  • 74
    Braga are replacing Oliviera Joao Pinto with Dos Santos Cesinha.
  • 74
    Braga are replacing Jose Ze Carlos with Lima Barbosa da Cunha Maciel.
  • 70
    Oliviera Joao Pinto goes into the referees book for unsporting behaviour.
  • 66
    Robbie Keane is being taken off, Jermain Defoe has come on in his place.
  • 61
    Goal!! Braga have scored with Joao Henrique Andrade putting it in the back of the net.
  • 54
    Joao Henrique Andrade is booked for unsporting behaviour.
  • 46
    The second half is under way with the score currently at 2 v 1.
  • 45
    The ref has blown his whistle for half time.
  • 42
    Goal!! Dimitar Berbatov scores for Tottenham.
  • 40
    Alberto Junior Rodriguez is replaced by Rinaldo Francisco De Lima Nem.
  • 31
    Dimitar Berbatov goes into the referees book for unsporting behaviour.
  • 28
    Goal!! Dimitar Berbatov scores for Tottenham.
  • 24
    Own goal, Tom Huddlestone has put it in his own net.
  • 0
    The ref has blown his whistle and the match has started.

Statistics

Tottenham Hotspur
Shots on target 3
Shots off target 6
Shots off bar/post 0
Fouls 15
Offsides 5
Corners 8

Braga
Shots on target 2
Shots off target 5
Shots off bar/post 0
Fouls 24
Offsides 1
Corners 5

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