tottenham hotspur fc striker peter crouch wants to tie up first place in group a to avoid "the big teams" but fc twente's roberto rosales has other ideas for tuesday's encounter.
peter crouch has promised that tottenham hotspur fc will be going all out to win group a despite having already qualified for the knockout stages in their first uefa champions league campaign.
harry redknapp's men head into their final game at fc twente leading fc internazionale milano at the top of the section thanks to their head-to-head record and crouch wants the london club to remain there after tuesday's matches to ensure they avoid the competition's heavyweights in next friday's round of 16 draw.
"we have a good chance of finishing top of the table," said the england striker. "we don't want just one point, we want three. it is very important for us so we don't meet the big teams from the other groups. we have played well in this campaign and it has been a great competition for us. we beat the european champions [inter] quite convincingly. we all really enjoyed it and want a lot more but we have much work to do."
spurs have adapted well to their new challenge of combining uefa champions league football with domestic progression. they have risen to fifth in the premier league table thanks to a five-match unbeaten run and qualified for the last 16 in europe following a 3-0 matchday 5 success against sv werder bremen, but crouch insists they must maintain their performance levels if they are to challenge for honours.
"i hope we can continue our current form," said the 29-year-old, who has scored three goals in group a to add to his play-off hat-trick against bsc young boys. "we are convinced about winning after our recent good results and are making progress all the time in this competition. i have nothing to fear in this campaign and can score goals.
"we have had a good period in the champions league as well as in the premier league. we want to continue that, just like arsenal have over recent years, but this game against twente will be different. it will be a tough game but we have the confidence to get a good result."
twente are guaranteed to finish third in the group but before they switch their focus to the uefa europa league, right-back roberto rosales wants to settle a score with spurs after his side's 4-1 loss at white hart lane on matchday 2. "revenge for the away match against the spurs?" said the 22-year-old. "we were disappointed after that game and want a victory tomorrow. we will never forget that match there. we played a good game.
"if possible, i will try to go forward against spurs but that depends on the situation," added the venezuelan international. "the away match gave us possibilities to attack but we have to watch out for their attacking strength. spurs are a good team but we want to get a good result in our last champions league game."
spurs secured top spot in group a despite their hosts pulling level three times in an entertaining game in enschede.
fc tottenham hotspur clinched top spot in uefa champions league group a after a thrilling 3-3 draw with fc twente.
peter wisgerhof put through his own goal after 12 minutes, but denny landzaat brought twente back into the match from the penalty spot. jermain defoe restored his side's advantage two minutes into the second half, but roberto rosales levelled. defoe struck again just before the hour mark, but twente equalised for a third time through a fine free-kick from nacer chadli.
the home side threatened first, heurelho gomes having to fully extend himself to palm a long-range wout brama shot round the post minutes into the match. yet it was the london outfit who broke the deadlock in cruel fashion. wisgerhof played an innocuous back pass to goalkeeper sander boschker, but the ball bounced over the foot of the 40-year-old club stalwart and rolled into the net.
however, it didn't take long for the dutch champions to restore parity. benoît assou-ekotto blocked a rosales drive with his arm, and landzaat stroked the penalty home at the second time of asking; his first effort being disallowed because of player encroachment. marc janko had a good opportunity to reward his team's subsequent superiority with a goal just before the break, but his left-footed shot on the turn went well wide.
they were made to rue this profligacy when harry redknapp's men struck immediately after the restart. aaron lennon, a first-half substitute for the injured jermaine jenas, split the home defence with a reverse pass that defoe confidently dispatched from inside the box. once again twente drew level. theo janssen put in a delightful cross from the left and rosales rose to power a header beyond gomes.
this time it took a mere three minutes for spurs to forge ahead again. janssen's slip let in wilson palacios, and although boschker got down to save his low effort, defoe was on hand to knock in the rebound. still the joint eredivisie leaders wouldn't lie down; chadli curled a sublime free-kick into the top corner on 64 minutes to peg back the visitors again with the game's final goal.
with fc internazionale milano losing 3-0 in germany to sv werder bremen, the point was enough to see the english side through as group winners. for twente there is the consolation of a place in the uefa europa league.
şampiyonlar ligi’nde twente ile tottenham hotspur arasında oynanan maçta, hollanda ekibinin kalecisi sander boschker inanılmaz bir hata yaptı. twente formasıyla 500′den fazla maça çıkan 40 yaşındaki kaleci, şampiyonlar ligi’ne grup maçlarının sonuncusunda bu sezon ilk kez şampiyonlar ligi’nde ilk 11′de sahaya çıktı.
sanders 12. dakikada takım arkadaşı peter wisgerhof’un geri pasında topu ileri göndermek isterken, meşin yuvarlağı ıska geçti.
top twente ağlarına giderken boshker’in hatasıyla peter wisgerhof kendi kalesine gol atan futbolcu oldu. maçta 3-3 sona erdi…
