It may not be the competition Spurs want to be in, but the Europa League awaits Mauricio Pochettino’s men in early 2017. We all knew before their last game at their adopted Wembley home that the Lilywhites were out of the Champions League, but a loss against a dangerous CSKA Moscow outfit would have dumped them out of Europe altogether - which would surely have had a major impact on the players’ confidence.

The game finished 3-1 after Spurs had fallen behind via an Alan Dzagoev goal. Dele Alli, Harry Kane and an own goal from hapless CSKA ‘keeper (more on that later) Igor Akinfeev secured the three points and ended Tottenham’s miserable run of losses at Wembley.

Indeed, before the first whistle, the north London club had not won at the home of English football since 2008, a whopping six games.

Here are NINE great pictures from a fine win for Pochettino’s side…

Wembley woes

Wembley has not been a happy ‘home’ ground for English teams in Europe and Spurs’ record at the nation’s footballing base was not the most fruitful ahead of kick-off. Indeed, Pochettino’s men has lost to both Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen in front of 85,000+ supporters, so another defeat would not have been welcome…

Alli looking dejected

The opening 30 minutes were quite tricky for Spurs. The Lilywhites showed glimpses of their quality on the Wembley turf, but to no avail. The above picture after Dele Alli had missed a decent chance rather summed up the feeling that it may not be Spurs’ night…

Russians rush into the lead

Not long after Alli was snapped looking frustrated, CSKA made Spurs pay via Alan Dzagoev. Once one of Europe’s most sought-after playmakers, the Russia international’s career has somewhat stagnated in recent years. But he was on hand to open the scoring as he poked home after a flick-on from winger Zoran Tosic. Game on.

Quickfire Spurs response

Luckily for Spurs, it didn’t take them long to make it 1-1 through Alli. The England midfielder had looked like Tottenham’s biggest threat, so it was no surprise when he connected with Christian Eriksen’s cross to half-volley past Igor Akinfeev.

Kane is able… to put Spurs in front

Heading in to half-time level would have been a welcome relief for Pochettino after watching his side fall behind, but Harry Kane made the oranges at the interval taste all the sweeter with a stoppage time goal to make it 2-1. Arguably the move of the match, the striker swept home a lovely finish and celebrated in style with Heung-min Son.

Alderweireld is back

Spurs really have missed Toby Alderweireld, with constant defensive reshufflings since the Belgian went missing through injury. Pochettino has been forced to drop Eric Dier back into central defence and even utilised a three-man backline on occasion, so being able to get the ex-Southampton man back on the pitch mid-way through the second-half will be seen as a big plus for all in the white half of north London.

Akinfeev’s miserable record

Akinfeev had already seen his horrendous 38-game non-clean sheet record in the Champions League extended to 39 when Alli netted in the first-half, so it was a case of salt being rubbed into wounds when he, after keeping out the aforementioned midfielder’s initial header, guided the ball over the line to make it 3-1 via an own goal.

Russian woes

With just three points – all via draws – it’s fair to say CSKA’s Champions League foray was a disappointment. The Moscow club will now switch their focus back to domestic concerns, where they currently sit outside of the top two in the Russian Premier Legue.

Europa League-bound

The Europa League may not be the competition Spurs want to be in, but it’s continental football in early 2017 and will afford them an alternative route towards re-qualifying for the Champions League. Balancing the fixtures has been a problem for the Lilywhites in the past, but being out of Europe altogether would have been a greater blow.