Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho said they had “one foot in the next round” after Gareth Bale inspired them to victory over Wolfsberger in the Europa League last 32 first leg.
Bale crossed for Son Heung-min to head the opener and then cut inside and blasted home their second goal. That was the first time since April 2013 that he scored and assisted a Tottenham goal in the same game.
Lucas Moura added a fine solo goal before half-time in Budapest.
But Michael Liendl’s penalty gave Wolfsberger hope and Christopher Wernitznig hit the bar – before Carlos Vinicius probably killed the tie.
“I don’t consider this an incredible victory, just a good victory that brings good feelings,” said Mourinho. “The plane back will be a different plane than after a defeat.”
Spurs boss Jose Mourinho spoke beforehand about how much he wants to win the Europa League and named a strong team, although Harry Kane was left in London for fitness reasons.
They were excellent in the first half but were much less impressive after replacing Son with Vinicius at half-time.
Wolfsberger were limited opposition, sitting sixth in the Austrian league and in a European knockout game for the first time. The game had to be played six hours away in Budapest, Hungary because of Covid restrictions.
The second leg is next Wednesday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Credit: BBC Sport