BBC

You know you have scored a special goal when you are being compared to Lionel Messi.

Even more so if you are a centre-half.

With Tottenham leading 2-0 but down to 10 men and coming under pressure from opponents Copenhagen, Micky van de Ven could have been forgiven for launching the ball to safety when he got it on the edge of his own penalty area.

But the Netherlands defender had other ideas.

Off he went, sprinting past one, two, three players, squeezing past another two near the halfway line and outpacing a Copenhagen defender to get through on goal with the Spurs fans rising as one in anticipation.

And the finish did not disappoint, with Van de Ven slotting the ball past goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski, before being mobbed by jubilant team-mates having scored one of the great Champions League goals.

"It seems like Lionel Messi turned into Micky van de Ven, running from his own goal down the other end to score," said Spurs boss Thomas Frank after his side thrashed Danish side Copenhagen 4-0 to maintain their unbeaten start to their Champions League campaign with two wins and two draws from their four games.

Van de Ven, 24, joined Tottenham in a £34m move from Wolfsburg in August 2023 and has recently added goals to his repertoire.

He scored in the Uefa Super Cup against Paris St-Germain in August, with further goals coming in the 3-0 win at West Ham, the 2-2 Champions League draw at Bodo Glimt and then two in the 3-0 victory at Everton last month.

But none of those can compare to the one he got on Tuesday.

"I started dribbling and thought I would see if they would catch up and they didn't," Van de Ven told TNT Sports.

"I was feeling good, and I felt amazing in the sprint, I felt like I could keep going."

While Van de Ven tried to stay calm about the quality of his goal, others were far more enthusiastic.

"It's one of the best goals you will ever see, ever," said former England midfielder Owen Hargreaves on TNT Sports.

"He runs past players like they're not even there. To stay strong and then to finish, that's ridiculous. Goal of the season, game over."

Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha, speaking on Match of the Day: Champions League added: "It's top. Really, really good.

"It's like when he assisted at Old Trafford last season [when he ran more than half the length of the pitch before setting up Brennan Johnson in a 3-0 victory against Manchester United].

"When defenders go on those runs, it's hard to understand who should stop them. With the size and the speed he has, we actually saw a player on the other side of the pitch who wanted nothing to do with him."

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, former Premier League defender Curtis Davies added: "He kind of stepped out looking for a pass and nothing was on. Once he saw the space ahead of him he knew nobody was catching him. He was at full tilt, full pace."

The goal has also drawn comparisons to Son Heung-min's effort against Burnley in 2019, a winding run which earned the ex-Tottenham forward the 2020 Puskas award.

For Tottenham and Frank it was a much-needed victory after his side had been booed off the pitch at the end of their 1-0 home loss to Chelsea on Saturday.

That extended a run of only one point from three successive home Premier League matches, even though they had picked up five points from their opening three games in the Champions League.

Frank urged the fans to back the team and the supporters responded as they, along with a passionate following from the visitors, helped create a superb atmosphere.

The home mood was helped when Tottenham took a 19th-minute lead through Brennan Johnson, before Wilson Odobert added a second soon after the restart to put Spurs in control.

That threatened to change when Johnson was sent off, after Belgian official Erik Lambrechts had been sent to the pitchside monitor by the video assistant referee to review the Welshman's sliding challenge on to the ankle of Marcos Lopez.

But Van de Ven's moment of magic quickly ended any hope of a fightback as Copenhagen, despite having a man advantage, crumbled with Joao Palhinha adding a fourth. There was almost a fifth but Richarlison hit the crossbar with a penalty in added time.

"We're progressing forwards, but we are not where we want to be," admitted Frank afterwards. "I saw a good performance, which I'm happy with. We talked about bounce-back mentality and there will be setbacks in football, it's how you react after a bad spell. We controlled the game from minute one."

For Van de Ven, it has been a mixed few days.

After the game against Chelsea, television footage showed he and team-mate Djed Spence appearing to snub Frank, when the Dane had gestured for them to go and acknowledge the home supporters.

Both players apologised after the incident, with Frank drawing a line under the matter in Monday's news conference

Following Van de Ven's goal, which will be talked about for years to come, Frank joked about the Dutchman: "He can keep walking past me if he is angry if he delivers like that."

Four days is clearly a long time in football. On Saturday, Tottenham produced a weak display, with only one attempt on target as they fell to a tame loss to Chelsea, with pressure mounting on Thomas Frank.

But this reaction was exactly what both Spurs and Frank needed, with a jubilant home support clearly loving what they were seeing.

When the home side went down to 10 men just after the hour-mark, most in the ground would have got nervous and expected a Copenhagen fightback.

Frank took off the superb Xavi Simons to strengthen the midfield by bringing on Joao Palhinha and it became a lesson in how to play with a man disadvantage, countering with pace and looking a threat every time they progressed.

In the end, the winning margin could have been wider with Richarlison, who had earlier hit the post, firing his 93rd-minute penalty against the underside of the crossbar.

Spurs opened the scoring in the 19th minute, pouncing on Gabriel Pereira's loose pass, which was collected by Rodrigo Bentancur and moved on to the excellent Simons.

He played a clever pass over the visiting defence and Brennan Johnson, who scored the only goal when Spurs beat Manchester United in the Europa League final to qualify for this tournament, kept his composure to go around the advancing goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski before calmly finishing.

Wilson Odobert added a second after Randal Kolo Muani had charged down a clearance from Kotarski, before Johnson's dismissal.

But the tension was lifted by Micky van de Ven's incredible individual effort, with Palhinha adding a fourth.

Tottenham fans had been unhappy with their home form, which had seen them only pick up one point from their past three Premier League games, but this was a perfect way to get the supporters back on side.

Credit also must go to the Copenhagen fans, who created a superb atmosphere as they did not stop chanting, singing and bouncing, even though their team were handed a thrashing by a rampant Spurs outfit.

Tottenham Hotspurs manager Thomas Frank, speaking to TNT Sport: "I am very happy with a lot of things. I think in life and football after a bad performance or situation it is about how you react.

"We call it a bounce-back mentality and our players have had a great bounce-back mentality in the last few days. They have wanted to turn things around and win, which we did.

"I think it was an impressive win because we controlled the game from minute one. We got the red card and the players found another level which was super impressive."

On Brennan Johnson's red card: "You can always say it is unnecessary but in the moment, when he goes down there, he has no intention to do anything that will get him a red card.

"I think it is quite harsh and I think VAR see it from still footage and that makes it much more brutal. I don't think he did anything reckless.

On Micky van de Ven's goal: "That could be goal of the season. It was like [Lionel] Messi turned into a centre-back. It seems like [Cristian] Romero didn't want to stand down for his other centre mate too. That was also a great goal."

Defender Van de Ven, also speaking to TNT Sports: "That is for sure what we needed after a tough one at the weekend. We needed to bounce back and we did.

On scoring his goal: "I started dribbling and thought that I would see if they would catch up and they didn't.

"I am feeling good, and I felt amazing in the sprint, I felt like I could keep going. [Cristian] Romero stayed calm as well [for Joao Palhinha goal]. When I saw him in front I wondered why he was there.

"When we got the red card I thought it was going to be tough but we stayed cool, we did what we needed to do and we killed the game off."

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Get in touch with your views

Tottenham Hotspur captain Cristian Romero is able to start for the first time in a month after recovering from an adductor injury.

He is one of five changes from the Spurs side that disappointed in the 1-0 Premier League loss to Chelsea on Saturday.

There are also starts for Destiny Udogie, Wilson Odobert, Brennan Johnson and Xavi Simons.

This will be the first meeting between Tottenham and Copenhagen, and just the English side’s second match against a Danish opponent in European competition, after a 3-2 win versus Aalborg in the UEFA Cup in November 2007.

Copenhagen have only won two of their previous 19 matches against English sides in European competition (D5 L12), with both of those victories coming against Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League (1-0 in November 2006 and 4-3 in November 2023).

Copenhagen have never won away to an English opponent in Europe, losing in seven of their nine attempts (D2). Indeed, they’ve lost each of the last five in a row, with four of those coming since the start of the 2022-23 campaign.

This will be Thomas Frank’s first match against a Danish opponent since March 2016, in a 3-1 defeat against SønderjyskE while in charge of Brøndby. The Tottenham manager has faced Copenhagen on eight previous occasions – all in the Danish Superliga with Brøndby – winning just two of them (D3 L3).

Tottenham Hotspur have drawn each of their last two UEFA Champions League matches, while two of their last four games in the competition have been 0-0. Spurs haven’t drawn three in a row in major European competition since doing so between March and October 2014 in the UEFA Europa League.

Copenhagen have conceded two or more goals in each of their last five UEFA Champions League matches, shipping 14 in total (D1 L4). They’ve only won one of 19 games in the competition when shipping 2+ goals (D2 L16), a 4-3 win over Man Utd in November 2023.

Tottenham Hotspur are unbeaten in their last nine major European matches (W6 D3) – they last had a run of 10 undefeated games between December 2011 and March 2013 in the UEFA Europa League.

Excluding own goals, two of Copenhagen’s three UEFA Champions League goals this season have come via headers – they’ve scored with 33% of shots via their heads (2/6), compared to just one of their 29 attempts not from a header (3.4%).

Copenhagen’s Viktor Dadason netted on his UEFA Champions League debut on MD3 aged just 17 years and 113 days, the youngest ever debutant scorer in the competition’s history. The current youngest player to score in his first two appearances is Karim Benzema (18 years, 281 days), who is now the fourth highest scoring player in the competition’s history with 90 goals.

Pedro Porro has made 28 line-breaking passes across his three UEFA Champions League games this season, at least 10 more than any other Tottenham Hotspur player. The Spaniard also has the joint-most chances created for the London side in the competitions this term (4), level with attacker Mohammed Kudus.

Goodbye

Right, we're off so we can get ourselves prepared for tonight's Champions League action!

And looking at the fixtures, we suggest you do the same!

Thank you so much for joining us as always.

Our team will be back to bring you full coverage of this evening's action a little later on.

Us lot? We'll be with you as always first thing tomorrow to react to it all.

Enjoy your evening and we'll see you then.

Alexander-Arnold 'has been a big miss for Liverpool'

Liverpool v Real Madrid (Tue, 20:00 GMT)

Robbie Fowler

Former Liverpool striker on 5 Live

I’m looking forward to seeing Trent [Alexander-Arnold] , but I obviously don’t want him to get a result. I do appreciate that he was a world class player, and is still a world class player and he has been a big miss for Liverpool.

Look we can all have opinions on what we should do or whether we should support him. I think the majority will understand, appreciate and respect what he has done for Liverpool but I think they will let their feelings be known and give him a bit of a hard time.

I think Liverpool could use that to their advantage though. To make the atmosphere that little bit more intense, and allow Liverpool to get into Real Madrid, [start] on the front foot.

'Whichever way I am received is the decision of the fans'

Liverpool v Real Madrid (20:00 GMT)

Champions League

Trent Alexander-Arnold speaking to Amazon Prime about his anticipated reception by the fans: "I think whichever way I am received is the decision of the fans. I will always love the club. I will always be a fan of the club. I will always be thankful for the opportunities [Liverpool gave me] and everything that we achieved together will live with me forever.

"So, no matter what, my feelings won't change towards Liverpool. I have got memories there that will last me a lifetime and no matter how I am received, that won't change."

What did Slot say about Trent returning?

Liverpool v Real Madrid (20:00 GMT)

Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on ex-Reds right-back Trent Alexander Arnold returning to the club with Real Madrid this evening: "I can only tell you what kind of reception he gets from me. I only have good memories from him as a player and as a human being.

"I have memories of working with him that are only positive and memories of watching him when I'm in front of the TV and they are only positive. I can remember multiple great moments of him in a Liverpool shirt.

"He will get a warm welcome by me, let's see if he is on the pitch and then how the fans react I've no clue but he gets a warm welcome from me, that's for sure."

'Superhuman' midfielders - is it fair to make a Caicedo-Kante comparison?

Will Faulks

Chelsea fan writer

There was a lot of interesting stuff going on in Chelsea's win over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, both on and off the pitch.

But it's impossible to write anything about that game and not mention Moises Caicedo. It doesn't matter that every pundit, player and both managers have already done so. It still won't be enough to explain just how good and just how important he was.

It was fitting that in a game where Chelsea repeatedly failed to turn their dominance into goals, the midfielder ended up being the one to decide the match. Already his team's main ball-winner and progressor, Caicedo realised he was going to have to be their creator too. He stormed forward, won three challenges in a row and battered his way into the box, where he put the ball on a plate for Joao Pedro to finish.

If the Brazilian had hesitated, we have no doubt that Caicedo would have been on hand to force the ball into the net, too. Comparisons to N'Golo Kante are often made but rarely appropriate. In this case, you could get away with them.

As with Kante, however, Chelsea need to make sure they don't end up becoming dependent on a midfielder's superhuman abilities. In a strange way, having such an exceptional player can end up hurting the team as a whole - every time Kante was removed from the lineup, the rest of the squad would realise they had forgotten how to win games without the help from a force of nature. They must avoid the same issues with their new edition.

Read the latest Chelsea updates here

Canada forward Jonathan David, 25, might make a January move to Tottenham or Bayern Munich having struggled to settle in at Juventus since moving to the Serie A club in the summer. (Sky Sports), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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Tottenham boss Thomas Frank says Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence have apologised to him after the pair snubbed the manager when leaving the pitch following defeat by Chelsea.

After the 1-0 loss on Saturday, Frank encouraged his players to do a lap of appreciation around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

But as fans booed the players off the pitch, cameras caught Van de Ven and Spence ignoring their manager and instead going straight down the tunnel.

"Micky and Djed came into my office yesterday and just said they wanted to say sorry for the situation," said Frank in a news conference on Monday.

"They didn't want it to look bad or any misconception that you can get in this beautiful media world.

"So there was no disrespect meant at all towards me or the team. They were just frustrated with the performance from us and the booing during the game."

Van de Ven and Spence's behaviour has been criticised by some fans and pundits, while others suggested the incident has been blown out of proportion.

Frank, 52, added he is pleased that his players came to him and prevented an escalation of the issue.

"If they didn't come in, of course I would have had to ask them about the situation they are working in. How they are feeling, why they are doing it? Because we all have a perception," he said.

"Whether it was because their mum wasn't well or they didn't like the head coach or they were irritated by the performance because they lost, or whatever.

"Of course, I am happy that they were coming in because that means they care - I think that is very good. They care about the team, the club and, in this case, me. I am happy with that."

When asked about the incident in his post-match interview, Frank said he understood his players' "frustration" and added that it was a "small issue".

But the problem has coincided with a run of chequered form and a downturn in fan mood.

It is understood Spurs are satisfied it wasn't a slight on Frank but instead more a show of frustration of what had developed and a build-up of negativity from fans at their home stadium over previous weeks.

Frank's side have not won at home in the Premier League since the opening day of the season - a 3-0 victory over Burnley.

They have just three wins in their past 19 games (four draws and 12 losses) at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium across former manager Ange Postecoglou and now Frank's tenure.

In England's top four tiers, only Southampton have won fewer home games than Spurs in this period.

Frank said he now considers the matter closed as his side aim to get their home form back on track when they host Copenhagen on Tuesday in the Champions League.

Spurs currently sit fifth in the Premier League and, on the surface, are enjoying a good season with five wins under their belt.

But they also started last season well - five wins in 10 matches, the same as this campaign - before ultimately finishing 17th under Postecoglou and it is clear fans fear a similar downward turn.

Spurs have not won back-to-back league games since beginning the season with wins against Burnley and Manchester City, and have won just one of their past five games in all competitions since the October international break.

Fans have aired their frustrations by booing and Frank said he understands that reaction to poor performances but that during the match it is not helpful.

"I think the fans were fantastic the first 30 minutes. After the game, if we perform badly and on top of that lost a game, then more than fair enough to boo us," he said.

"But during the game we need a little bit of help, especially when it is not going the right way. They can be the turning point.

"We were down 1-0. The last 15 minutes they can carry us over the line. If we could have got it back to 1-1, what a feeling! That point could be the difference at the end of a long season."

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario agreed with his manager, adding: "If we had more help from the stands it could be better but of course, we cannot control it.

"At the end, of course everyone was really disappointed because we had lost a London derby.

"We got the reaction of the fans at the end of the game, of course they can express their pain, and we are in a big painful situation."