The ten best games in Tottenham's history at White Hart Lane, from Gornik Zbraze to beating Arsenal
Ahead of the final game at the Lane on Sunday, we list the ten most memorable matches
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Tottenham Hotspur host Manchester United on Sunday in their final game at White Hart Lane before they move to Wembley for a season while their new home is completed.
Spurs will then move into their new 61,000 capacity ground, which is being built on top of the current stadium, in time for the 2018/19 campaign.
But what are the 10 most memorable matches to have been played at the Lane? Here, Jack Pitt-Brooke selects the games that will live on in the memory long after the stadium has gone.
20 September 1961, Tottenham 8-1 Gornik Zbraze
Tottenham’s first ever game in the European Cup came against feared Polish opponents Gornik in the first round. Spurs had lost 4-2 in Poland and some inflammatory comments by the visitors nearly sparked a riot when they came back to White Hart Lane. But in front of 70,000 fans Spurs took Gornik to pieces, inspired by Danny Blanchflower, and won 7-1. They made it all the way to the semi-finals where they were knocked out by Benfica.
17 May 1972, 1-1 v Wolverhampton Wanderers (UEFA Cup final 2nd leg)
Spurs won the inaugural UEFA Cup and their second European competition, drawing 1-1 with Wolves at home after winning 2-1 at Molineux. Wearing their preferred European all-white strip, in front of a fervent atmosphere, Alan Mullery’s header gave Spurs a lead they could hold onto to lift the cup.
6 February 1982, Tottenham 6-1 v Wolverhampton Wanderers
The first game with White Hart Lane’s brand new west stand, this was one of the high-points of the attacking football of the Keith Burkinshaw era. Ricky Villa scored a hat-trick, while Ossie Ardiles and Glenn Hoddle were just as good and Spurs destroyed Wolves, winning 6-1 in front of just under 30,000 people.
23 May 1984, Tottenham 1-1 Anderlecht (won 4-3 on penalties), (UEFA Cup final 2nd leg)
Spurs lifted the UEFA Cup for a second time at White Hart Lane in 1984. After drawing 1-1 with Anderlecht in Brussels, they repeated the same scoreline at home thanks to Graham Roberts’ equaliser. The game went to penalties when two saves by Tony Parks gave Spurs the trophy, the perfect end to Keith Burkinshaw’s time in charge of Spurs.
13 November 2004, Tottenham 4-5 Arsenal
A few months after winning the Premier League as Invincibles, Arsenal went to White Hart Lane to face Martin Jol in his first game since replacing Jacques Santini as Spurs manager. Tottenham were excellent in the first half, but Arsenal surged past them in the second half and Robert Pires’ famous goal sealed the win for Arsene Wenger’s side.
22 January 2008, Tottenham 5-1 Arsenal
Spurs’ last major trophy came under Juande Ramos and their run to the Carling Cup final included a joyous 5-1 mauling of Arsenal in the semi-final second leg. After a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Spurs needed to win, and had not beaten Arsenal since 1999. But they tore through a young but gifted Arsenal side, starting from Jermaine Jenas’ early opener. They were on their way to Wembley, where they beat Chelsea.
22 November 2009, Tottenham 9-1 Wigan Athletic
One of the most one-sided games in modern history came under Harry Redknapp, when a game that felt tight at half-time, with Spurs just 1-0 up, saw Jermaine Defoe score five goals in the second half. Even David Bentley scored at the end. It was Spurs’ biggest top flight win ever and their biggest against anyone since beating Bristol Rovers 9-0 in 1977.
2 November 2010, Tottenham 3 – 1 Internazionale
The highlight of Spurs’ first taste of Champions League football was the magical evening when Gareth Bale announced that he was on his way to being a world-class player. Inter had won the treble under Jose Mourinho just six months before but under lights Bale tore them to shreds, not least their celebrated Brazilian right-back Maicon. Bale got two assists in a 3-1 win that helped to send Harry Redknapp’s Spurs towards the quarter-finals.
1 January 2015, Tottenham 5-3 Chelsea
There have been plenty of great White Hart Lane games under Mauricio Pochettino but perhaps the best one came half way through his first season. Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, who went on to win the league, came to Spurs but they were overwhelmed by their speed and aggression. Harry Kane scored twice and Chelsea were completely overrun. When they lost 2-0 at Spurs in 2017 it felt like less of a surprise.
30 April 2017, Tottenham 2-0 Arsenal
Even with this season set to end trophyless for Tottenham, they confirmed the fact that they will finish ahead of Arsenal for the first time in a generation with a blistering win in late April. Spurs blew Arsenal away with a surge of energy at the start of the second half and Arsenal could never get near them. It was the perfect story for the last ever derby at the ground.
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