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Richarlison's goals were his first since joining Tottenham from Everton this summerRicharlison's first goals for Tottenham broke Marseille's stubborn resistance as Antonio Conte's side made a winning return to the Champions League.
Marseille frustrated Spurs for large parts of this opening Group D game even after being reduced to 10 men early in the second half when Chancel Mbemba was sent off for a professional foul on Son Heung-min.
Spurs were struggling to make the breakthrough until Richarlison powered home a header from Ivan Perisic's cross with 14 minutes left to open his account following his £60m summer move from Everton.
Richarlison added another with an even better header five minutes later, this time meeting Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's delivery at the far post to beat Marseille goalkeeper Pau Lopez and seal the points for Spurs.
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Richarlison makes his mark
Richarlison joined Spurs in order to sample the Champions League stage after making a huge contribution as Everton made a late escape from relegation last season.
The Brazilian was a hero at Goodison Park and - unusually for a big-money transfer - went with almost unanimous good wishes from supporters who had taken him to their hearts.
The 25-year-old was a powerful addition to the potent Spurs front line that already boasted England captain Harry Kane, Son and the talented Dejan Kulusevski - the sort of signing Conte craved in his hunt for major prizes.
He has had to bide his time but Richarlison's early contributions, including his contentious ball juggling in the recent win over Nottingham Forest, have already won him favour among Spurs fans.
And he cemented that status here with two vital goals that ensured Spurs came through a night of hard work with a crucial victory.
Richarlison's theatrics may occasionally irritate, but there is no doubting his quality and the two headers that made the difference here demonstrated exactly what he brings to Spurs.
Stubborn Spurs dig deep
Spurs may not have been pleasing on the eye at times this season but Conte has injected steel into the side that means they have the ability to get the job done even when they are not at their best.
It was the same here as they lacked rhythm and momentum for long periods, Marseille often the more composed side in possession until the sending-off of Mbemba.
He had to go and it handed the initiative to Spurs, who stuck to their task and ultimately found a match-winner in Richarlison.
Conte celebrated wildly on the touchline, the manner of victory seemingly giving him just as much pleasure as any earned by free-flowing football.
Spurs are a different beast under the fiercely driven Italian and here, even when not touching the heights, they proved it again.
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Tottenham Hotspur
Squad number1Player nameLloris
Squad number17Player nameRomero
Squad number15Player nameDier- Squad number34Player nameLenglet
- Squad number12Player nameEmerson Royal
- Squad number30Player nameBentancur
- Squad number5Player nameHøjbjerg
- Squad number14Player namePerisic
- Squad number9Player nameRicharlison
Squad number7Player nameSon Heung-Min
Squad number10Player nameKane
- Squad number2Player nameDoherty
- Squad number21Player nameKulusevski
- Squad number25Player nameTanganga
Squad number33Player nameDavies- Squad number38Player nameBissouma
Marseille
Squad number16Player namePau López
Squad number99Player nameMbemba
Squad number3Player nameBailly
Squad number4Player nameGigot
Squad number7Player nameClauss
Squad number21Player nameRongier
Squad number27Player nameVeretout
Squad number30Player nameNuno Tavares
Squad number8Player nameGerson
Squad number6Player nameGuendouzi
Squad number11Player nameSuárez
Squad number5Player nameBalerdi
Squad number17Player nameÜnder
Squad number22Player nameGueye
Squad number23Player nameKolasinac
Squad number77Player nameHarit
Line-ups
Tottenham
Formation 3-4-2-1
- 1Lloris
- 17RomeroSubstituted forTangangaat 73'minutes
- 15DierBooked at 53mins
- 34LengletSubstituted forDaviesat 73'minutes
- 12Emerson RoyalSubstituted forKulusevskiat 61'minutes
- 30BentancurSubstituted forBissoumaat 85'minutes
- 5Højbjerg
- 14Perisic
- 9Richarlison
- 7Son Heung-MinBooked at 65minsSubstituted forDohertyat 86'minutes
- 10Kane
Substitutes
- 2Doherty
- 4Skipp
- 6D Sánchez
- 11Gil
- 19R Sessegnon
- 20Forster
- 21Kulusevski
- 24Spence
- 25Tanganga
- 29Sarr
- 33Davies
- 38Bissouma
Marseille
Formation 3-4-2-1
- 16López
- 99MbembaBooked at 47mins
- 3BaillyBooked at 48mins
- 4GigotSubstituted forÜnderat 87'minutes
- 7ClaussBooked at 70minsSubstituted forKolasinacat 70'minutes
- 21Rongier
- 27VeretoutSubstituted forGueyeat 87'minutes
- 30Tavares
- 8Santos da SilvaSubstituted forBalerdiat 50'minutes
- 6Guendouzi
- 11SuárezSubstituted forHaritat 71'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Ngapandouetnbu
- 5Balerdi
- 10Payet
- 17Ünder
- 22Gueye
- 23Kolasinac
- 29Kaboré
- 36Blanco
- 77Harit
Live Text
Match ends, Tottenham Hotspur 2, Marseille 0.
Second Half ends, Tottenham Hotspur 2, Marseille 0.
Attempt blocked. Nuno Tavares (Marseille) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Cengiz Ünder.
Corner, Marseille. Conceded by Ben Davies.
Attempt blocked. Cengiz Ünder (Marseille) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Amine Harit.
Attempt missed. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left following a corner.
Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Eric Bailly.
Attempt blocked. Matt Doherty (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Dejan Kulusevski.
Foul by Matt Doherty (Tottenham Hotspur).
Pape Gueye (Marseille) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Valentin Rongier (Marseille).
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Dejan Kulusevski (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Sead Kolasinac (Marseille).
Attempt missed. Japhet Tanganga (Tottenham Hotspur) header from the right side of the box is close, but misses the top left corner. Assisted by Ivan Perisic with a cross following a set piece situation.
Substitution, Marseille. Cengiz Ünder replaces Samuel Gigot.
Substitution, Marseille. Pape Gueye replaces Jordan Veretout.
Dejan Kulusevski (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Eric Bailly (Marseille).
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Matt Doherty replaces Son Heung-Min.
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