Van de Ven wonder goal helps Tottenham to 4-0 rout of Copenhagen

LONDON - Tottenham Hotspur central defender Micky van de Ven scored a sensational solo goal in his side's 4-0 home rout of FC Copenhagen which lifted the London club into the top eight in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The flying Dutchman took possession of the ball on the edge of his own penalty area in the 64th minute and sped the length of the pitch through a flimsy Copenhagen defence to smash home a shot and make it 3-0.

Brennan Johnson had put a dominant Spurs side ahead in the 19th minute with a cool, angled finish into an empty goal after visiting keeper Dominik Kotarski charged out of his goal and Wilson Odobert doubled the advantage in the 51st after Randal Kolo Muani did well after more poor keeping by Kotarski.

Johnson was shown a red card four minutes after Odobert's goal for a late tackle on Marcos Lopez but rather than slow down, the hosts put their foot on the accelerator.

After Van de Ven's goal-of-the season contender, substitute Joao Palhinha was played in by Cristian Romero following another sweeping forward move to make it 4-0.

Substitute Richarlison struck the crossbar with a header and a 90th-minute penalty but that could not detract from Tottenham's biggest win since manager Thomas Frank took charge.

Unbeaten Tottenham's second victory in the group lifted them into the top eight in the standings with eight points, while Copenhagen are languishing near the bottom with one point.

Tottenham were criticised for a woeful attacking display in a 1-0 home defeat by Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday, after which a furious Van de Ven blanked Frank.

The player was all smiles though three days later after a goal that will be replayed over and over.

Known as one of the quickest defenders in Europe, Van de Ven produced a 95-metre burst of pace that eight-time Olympic gold-medal winner Usain Bolt would have been proud of to raise the roof of the stadium.

"I saw a little gap in front and started dribbling and then I saw the space more and more," Van de Ven, who is now his club's top scorer this season with six goals in all competitions, told TNT Sports.

"I 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."

Incredibly, it looked as though Romero would join his defensive partner on the scoresheet minutes later but he cleverly picked out Palhinha who finished emphatically.

Tottenham have lost three Premier League games at home this season but are now unbeaten in 22 European games on home turf and that record never looked in doubt against Copenhagen who would have suffered an uglier defeat had Kolo Muani not wasted two first-half sitters after being set up by Xavi Simons.

"It felt like we had Lionel Messi turned into Micky van de Ven," Frank said. "I would say it was a step forward in how we want to play. Assists and goals from the offensive players and also the structure was good today."

Tottenham ended the night in seventh place and face reigning champions Paris St Germain away later this month. REUTERS