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Tottenham Hotspur were left to rue a plethora of missed chances as they settled for a 0-0 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt in Champions League Group D.
The Lilywhites put in a much-improved defensive display from their 3-1 loss to North London rivals Arsenal, but Antonio Conte witnessed his players waste a number of opportunities at the other end in an action-packed stalemate.
Conte kept faith with the same XI from the North London derby defeat to Arsenal, and Group D had been blown wide open a few minutes after kickoff as Marseille crushed 10-man Sporting Lisbon 4-1.
Chances were at a premium for both teams in the opening exchanges, but Frankfurt huffed and puffed approaching the 20-minute mark, forcing several corners in quick succession but failing to make any of them count.
After surviving that wave of pressure, Tottenham broke forward in the 25th minute, as a cheeky dummy from Son Heung-min opened up space for the South Korea international to cross for Harry Kane, but the England captain could not connect on what would otherwise have been a tap-in.
Kane and Son both fizzed chances past the post before Ivan Perisic’s deflected effort just missed the bottom corner towards the end of the first half, and half-hearted appeals for a penalty after Makoto Hasebe’s challenge on Richarlison did not bear fruit.
Five minutes after the restart, Frankfurt’s best chance of the game so far fell to Ansgar Knauff, who managed to stay level with Emerson Royal and receive Djibril Sow’s ball over the top, but Hugo Lloris was equal to his acrobatic effort from inside the area.
Jesper Lindstrom also sent an effort over the crossbar on the hour mark as Frankfurt upped the ante, and there was a feeling that the tie could have easily swung either way approaching the final quarter of the game.
Neither keeper was truly tested in the dying embers, with Kevin Trapp gratefully collecting a deflected long-range effort from Kane, and the referee’s final whistle blew with no goals to be had.
As a result, Sporting remain at the top of the Group D rankings with six points, with Tottenham and Frankfurt both level on four, and the Lilywhites occupy second place courtesy of their superior goal difference.
Tottenham now have eight days to analyse Tuesday’s draw before welcoming Frankfurt to North London on October 12, and their next Premier League game sees them tackle Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Saturday evening.
