UEFA Champions League: Tottenham, Sporting reach last 16

Tottenham Hotspur forgot their domestic woes to qualify for the knockout rounds of the Champions League with a comfortable 2-0 win over already eliminated Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Sporting twice came from behind before Alisson Santos scored an extra-time winner as they defeated Athletic Bilbao 3-2 after a frantic final group match.

Randal Kolo Muani put the London club ahead from close range just after half-time, and Dominic Solanke sealed the victory when he drove in his side’s second in the 77th minute.

The win completed an impressive group campaign for Thomas Frank’s side, who finished with 17 points from eight games despite finishing 14th in the Premier League.

Injury-depleted Spurs dominated their Bundesliga opponent, with Xavi Simons having an early goal disallowed for offside, while Wilson Odobert was denied by the woodwork.

Sporting shows Bilbao the door

Sporting, meanwhile, finished seventh with 16 points, while Bilbao finished in 29th place with eight points and were eliminated.

With the top eight through and the next sixteen teams heading to the play-offs for the knockout round, Sporting needed a win to give themselves a chance of qualifying directly, but Oihan Sancet got the home side off to a perfect start with a goal in the third minute.

The visitor leveled nine minutes later through Ousmane Diomande’s unstoppable header from Maximiliano Araujo’s corner.

Sporting fell behind again after 28 minutes when Gorka Guruzeta ‌won the ball and stormed into the penalty area, firing home the rebound after his first-time shot hit the inside of the far post.

Sporting refused to lie down and equalized again with a brilliantly executed move, with Francisco Trincao cutting through the middle and sending the ball past goalkeeper Unai Simon.

Luis Suarez thought he had given Sporting the lead in the 72nd minute when he came in to score at the far post, but the goal was disallowed for offside and a decision to award Sporting a penalty in the 78th minute was overturned after a VAR review.

The Lisbon team looked set for the play-offs until they broke through deep into second-half stoppage time, and although Suarez had his shot blocked by Simon, Santos followed up and fired the ball home to put his side through safely.

Published on January 29, 2026