Inter Milan vs Tottenham – Champions League as it happened
Late goals deny Spurs crucial opening victory
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Louise Thomas
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Tottenham have lost 2-1 against Inter Milan in their opening Champions League Group B match.
Spurs were unable to respond and suffered a third straight defeat for the first time under Pochettino.
Re-live all the action below:
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When is it?
The game kicks off at 5.55pm on Tuesday 18 September.
Where can I watch it?
BT Sport 3 will be providing live coverage which gets underway at 5.15pm.
Hello there and welcome to our live coverage of Inter Milan vs Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League.
Join us an hour ahead of kick-off for team news, build-up and hot, juicy minute-by-minute action.
Team news from the San Siro:
Hosts Inter make four changes from their surprise defeat to Parma on Saturday. Experienced Brazilian Miranda comes in to what looks to be a three-pronged defensive unit, with Sassuolo loanee Matteo Politano likely deployed at right-wing back.
Spurs also ring the changes. With Toby Alderweireld and Kieran Trippier controversially left at home for "technical" reasons, Serge Aurier and Davinson Sanchez will start on the right-hand side of a defence that also sees Ben Davies replace Danny Rose at left-back.
Erik Lamela and Heung Min-Son also come into the side, with Harry Winks and Lucas Moura dropping to the bench.
For the first time since becoming Spurs manager, Mauricio Pochettino is under a little pressure. The Argentinian yesterday gave a peculiar press conference featuring a bizarre cow simile and odd comments on Alderwiereld and Trippier's exclusions. Are cracks beginning to show?
Jonathan Liew on Tottenham, and why this may be a key crossroads in their season:
Who can forget the last time these two clubs met in the Champions League group stages?
Gareth Bale announced his arrival on the European stage, producing two masterclasses, a hat-trick in the San Siro and one of the great individual performances in Champions League history.
The first tie saw Spurs narrowly fall to a 4-3 def, before Harry Redknapp's men dismissed the defending champions 3-1 at White Hart Lane, Maicon, arguably the world's foremost right-back at the time, torn asunder by a converted Welsh left-back.
Remarkable.
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Things have certainly changed since then, however, with Spurs' evolution into a top-four Premier League side well documented.
Their hosts tonight, however, have had a more tumultuous time of things. Financial troubles, curious signings, ownership changes and huge managerial turnover sent one of European football's giants into a serious slumber.
Nevertheless Luciano Spalletti's appointment appears to have stirred the Italians, and a remodelled Inter are back in the Champions League after six fallow years. With a retooled squad built around shrewd and experienced signings like Stefan De Vrij and Radja Nainggolan, Spalletti's side are well-built defensively and in Mauro Icardi have an expert marksman who can trouble Tottenham tonight.
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It is a little strange to remark, but there are indeed just five minutes until our 17.55 BST kick-off. A new venture for the Champions League with two different kick-off times, the customary 19.45 uniformity discarded entirely, with the second set of fixtures coming at 20.00.
Thus it is time to settle in for an entire evening of the best football Europe has to offer...
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On to the pitch wander the two teams, each captained by their star centre-forward.
There's the music, the San Siro choir joining in for the climax with typical Italian gusto.
It is Champions League time...
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Clement Turpin whistles, and the 2018-19 Champions League is underway.
1 minute
Spurs are playing a clear 4-2-3-1, with Erik Lamela in behind Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen, for the moment at least, wide right.
Inter Milan are playing four at the back with Milan Skriniar (normally a centre-back) shifted to right-back.
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