CSKA Moscow vs Tottenham match report: Heung-Min Son on song again as Spurs' campaign gets up and running

CSKA Moscow 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1: The South Korean needed only a few minutes up front to score the decisive goal and extend his rich vein of form

Son battles for the ball with CSKA's Mario Fernandes (Getty)

All Heung-Min Son needed was four minutes, and a bit of luck, to show how important he is to Tottenham, and to score the most important goal of their season so far. Spurs were looking blunt, unable to break through CSKA Moscow, and unable to get their Champions League campaign underway here, with just 23 minutes left.

Mauricio Pochettino knew that his team needed more energy up front, more edge. Vincent Janssen had worked hard all night without ever threatening. So he went off and Son played through the middle instead. Within a blink Spurs were 1-0 up, and that was that.

For Pochettino this was a tactical triumph, for Son a personal one. He has not always justified the £22million Tottenham paid for him last season, and Pochettino had to persuade him not to leave over the summer. But he now has five goals this season, and three in four days. With Harry Kane still six weeks away from fitness, recovering from a bad ankle injury, Spurs need more directness, more selfishness and more goals from their front men. Janssen has many strengths but he is still adjusting and that is not his game yet. Son does have those instincts.

This crucial switch brought three points that Spurs could not have done without. Having lost their first Champions League game to Monaco they flew to Moscow needing to make up lost ground. They came to the atmospheric new CSKA Arena, facing the motivated in-form Russian champions. They came without five injured first-teamers, including Kane and Mousa Dembele, two of their most important players. This was not Spurs’ strongest team, playing in unfamiliar conditions, with no experience to fall back on. And they still came home with three points.

Pochettino had been furious after the Monaco game, questioning the players’ character and their willingness to fight to be in the Champions League. Here in the Moscow cold he got the perfect response from them. Spurs played with personality and stability, never looking out of place, never making the careless defensive errors that cost them at Wembley.

With Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele left in London to recover from muscle injuries, Pochettino stuck with Victor Wanyama, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli in his three-man midfield. They dominated possession but found it hard to create chances against a packed compact CSKA defence. Resorting to shooting from distance, Alli pinged the bar from 30 yards. Too often they ran into the imposing Pontus Wernbloom, sat in front of the CSKA defence.

Tottenham knew that they needed to do more in the second half, especially with CSKA occasionally dangerous on the break. Zoran Tosic missed two good chances either side of half-time, and Spurs could not afford to switch off. Son was starting to threaten more, having one shot blocked by Georgi Schennikov after being forced wide. Then he curled a shot just beyond the far post.

Tottenham struggled to break CSKA down until Son's strike (Getty)

ochettino knew that he needed more of a threat in behind and a threat in the box. While Janssen still gets up to speed with English football, his first instinct is still to take the selfless rather than the selfish option. Spurs did not have a bench with much experience on it, but rather than see the Spurs run into the same problems he decided to haul Janssen off, bringing on Georges-Kevin N’Koudou for just his third Tottenham appearance.

The move was a risk but it won Spurs the game. They needed more pace and mobility up front. N’Koudou went wide on the left, beating a man and winning a corner with his very first action. With Son as a number nine Spurs had a more dangerous threat than before.

Lamela carried the ball forward and this time he had a quick runner in front of him. Son darted in behind Schennikov and the through-pass was perfect. Son quickly got a shot away and Igor Akinfeev, for all his experience, let the ball squirm underneath him and roll slowly over the line. Pochettino had been instantly vindicated.

With CSKA forced to come forward, Spurs nearly broke through again. Son’s shot was blocked and Dele Alli threw himself at the rebound, chesting the ball but not quite managing to double Spurs’ lead.

From then on it was all about conservation. CSKA had offered very little all night and could not suddenly get out of second gear. Harry Winks came on for Alli, keeping the ball in midfield, slowing the tempo down, something that Spurs are not always too good at when in the lead. But in the end it was very comfortable as they passed their way through to their first crucial win. Their Champions League campaign is underway.

CSKA Moscow (4-2-3-1): Akinfeev; Fernandes, V. Berezutski, Ignashevich, Schenikov; Golovin, Wernbloom; Tosic, Eremenko, Milanov; Traore.

Tottenham (4-3-2-1): Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies; Eriksen, Wanyama, Alli; Lamela, Son; Janssen.

Man of the match: Son

Match rating: 6