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Under-pressure Thomas Frank received a much-needed boost as an impressive first-half display saw Tottenham beat 10-man Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

It felt like Frank went into this game needing a win, with supporters having turned on him following the 2-1 home defeat by West Ham on Saturday.

But there was a different atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday night as Spurs attacked with pace and purpose, and first-half goals from Cristian Romero and Dominic Solanke saw off Dortmund.

The victory puts Frank’s side in a strong position to qualify automatically for the knockouts as they are fifth with one more fixture remaining.

The fans’ frustration was perhaps evident at kick-off with a number of empty seats in the upper tiers of the ground, but Tottenham’s encouraging start will have allayed fears that a fourth successive loss was on the cards.

The hosts deservedly took the lead when Romero turned in Wilson Odobert’s ball from the right, and they continued to create opportunities as Dortmund struggled with their high press.

It got even better for Tottenham when the visitors had Daniel Svensson sent off after a review by the video assistant referee (VAR) following his high-boot challenge on Odobert, who continued to be involved in the key moments with another assist for Spurs’ second.

He played a neat one-two with Pedro Porro before sending a low ball into the box, which bounced off Solanke’s heel and on to his other foot to deflect into the net.

Tottenham had nowhere near that level of intensity in the second half, though should have added a third when Randal Kolo Muani raced through but fired straight at goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.

Guglielmo Vicario then tipped over Nico Schlotterbeck’s header in stoppage time to ensure it was not a nervous end to the game for the home fans.

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Gabriel Jesus pushed Arsenal into the last 16 of the Champions League with a double in Tuesday’s 3-1 win at Inter Milan which made the Gunners mathematically sure of a top-eight finish.

Two close-range finishes in the first half gave Arsenal a deserved seventh straight league phase win at the San Siro and manager Mikel Arteta a selection conundrum with Manchester United visiting the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Jesus started in place of summer signing Viktor Gyokeres, who has struggled this season but made sure of the win with a fine shot in the 84th minute, and the former Manchester City striker offered a threat all game.

The 28-year-old had only started twice this season before Tuesday’s win but appears to be back to his best after coming back from a cruciate ligament tear which kept him out of action for nearly a year.

Arsenal are now on 21 points and were effectively in the last 16 before kick-off as 16 points was enough to be in the top eight last season.

But the 28-year-old was key to Arsenal going six points clear at the top of the classification ahead of second-placed Bayern Munich’s home fixture with Union Saint-Gilloise on Wednesday night.

Inter, who levelled through a fabulous Petar Sucic strike in the 18th minute, sit eighth after losing a third straight match in Europe’s elite club competition for the first time in their history.

The Serie A leaders look set to drop out of the top eight on Wednesday with five teams that can overtake them, and their maximum possible points tally of 15 — should they win at Borussia Dortmund next week — makes a playoff spot likely.

More worryingly it was another big game defeat for Cristian Chivu’s team who have struggled in high-profile contests and were sloppy for both of Jesus’ goals.

Arsenal looked like they would stroll to victory when Jesus poked home the Gunners’ opener in the 10th minute, the Brazilian pouncing on Jurrien Timber’s mishit shot to score his first Champions League goal November 2023.

But his goal was quickly cancelled out by Sucic’s thumping drive as Inter abandoned their initial cautious strategy and began to cause Arsenal problems.

Sucic spurned a perfect chance to unleash another shot in the 27th minute when sent charging through by Lautaro Martinez, but he dawdled and then played a poor pass to Marcus Thuram who slashed his effort high and wide.

Inter were punished for spurning that opportunity four minutes later by Jesus, who was left completely unmarked near the goalline for one of Arsenal’s special set-piece routines.

Bukayo Saka’s deep, looping corner was headed back onto the crossbar by Leandro Trossard and the ball fell straight to Jesus who made no mistake.

Inter didn’t roll over, with Federico Dimarco and substitute Pio Esposito both going close with angled drives, but Gyokeres struck on the break to seal the deal and allow fans to look ahead to United.

AFP

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The Moroccan Football Federation said Monday it has formally referred to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA incidents involving Senegalese players and supporters protesting a penalty to Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final.

Senegal’s protest in added time of normal play during Sunday night’s clash in Rabat led to the match being paused for nearly 20 minutes as the players walked off the pitch in anger.

Some Senegalese fans at the opposite end of the stadium threw chairs and other objects and attempted to get onto the field of play.

The AFCON hosts’ football federation said these acts “had a significant impact on the normal course of the match and on the players’ performance”, with Morocco then missing the penalty that could have granted them their first African title in 50 years.

The federation said “it will resort to legal procedures” with CAF, the tournament’s organising body, and FIFA “in order to rule on the withdrawal of the Senegalese national team from the field”… “as well as on the events that accompanied this decision”.

It said the referee’s decision to grant the Atlas Lions a penalty was “deemed correct by unanimous opinion of specialists”.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino condemned “some Senegal players” for the “unacceptable scenes”.

Senegal scored the game’s only goal just four minutes into extra time after the players returned to the pitch following an appeal from star forward Sadio Mane.