Will Lankshear endured a rollercoaster night in front of a raucous Rams Park crowd after he was sent off in Tottenham’s 3-2 loss at Galatasaray in the Europa League.
Lankshear scored his first goal for the club in the 18th minute to cancel out Yunus Akgun’s sixth-minute opener.
However, the 19-year-old forward received two bookings in quick succession after half-time to earn a maiden red card in professional football.
Things go from bad to worse for Tottenham 😬
19-year-old Will Lankshear receives a second yellow card and is sent off for Spurs 🟥
📺@tntsports&@discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/MsWdKPqWzO
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 7, 2024
Spurs were already 3-1 down at this point after a first-half double by Victor Osimhen, but Ange Postecoglou turned to his bench and watched Dominic Solanke score in the 69th minute to set up a grandstand finish.
It was too much of an ask for Tottenham’s 10 men, though, as Galatasaray held on to leapfrog them in the Europa League table.
Postecoglou made seven changes from Sunday’s win over Aston Villa with three teenagers in Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Lankshear included in the starting line-up.
A cauldron of noise greeted the Spurs players for the warm-up and it was even louder when play got under way.
Every touch by a visiting player was whistled but they soon turned to celebrations when Akgun fired the hosts ahead with a swerving half-volley from 25 yards after Gray partially headed clear a free-kick.
Fraser Forster had to slide in on Osimhen soon after following a poor back pass by Bergvall, but Tottenham regrouped and levelled after 18 minutes.
Gray brought the ball forward and wonderfully chipped over the Galatasaray defence into the path of Brennan Johnson, who squared for Lankshear to divert the ball in at the back post.
It was not the slickest finish from Lankshear as his effort from close range ballooned into the roof of the net, but it was a moment to savour for him.
Spurs’ respite did not last long and Osimhen punished them with two goals in eight minutes.
After Forster had produced a fine low save to thwart Osimhen, he had the ball in the net on the half an hour mark but was flagged for offside.
The Napoli loanee would not be denied and scored in the 32nd minute after a gift from Tottenham.
Bergvall initially dallied on the ball before Radu Dragusin was inexplicably dispossessed, which allowed Dries Mertens to send Osimhen away to poke past Forster.
Osimhen then made it 3-1 when he got in behind Dragusin and steered Mertens’ cross into the bottom corner.
Postecoglou sent for Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski at half-time, with Johnson and Son replaced in a nod to Sunday’s visit of Ipswich.
It failed to stem the tide as Bentancur blocked Mauro Icardi’s effort on the line after Forster dropped a cross before the Spurs goalkeeper atoned with a brilliant stop to deny Osimhen his hat-trick.
Is a comeback on the cards? 👀
Dominic Solanke with a smooth back-heel finish to pull a goal back for Tottenham 👏✨
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/a9JWBnYdEF
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 7, 2024
Kulusevski fashioned a chance for Lankshear moments later, but he fired straight at Fernando Muslera and his night turned sour after an hour.
Moments after Lankshear was booked for bringing down ex-Spurs defender Davinson Sanchez, he dived into a challenge with Sara by the halfway line.
It left referee Lawrence Visser with a decision to make and he showed the teenage forward a second yellow card, which left Postecoglou bemused.
Nevertheless, the Tottenham boss refused to take a backwards step and brought on Pape Sarr and Solanke for disappointing duo Bergvall and James Maddison.
It worked perfectly as the visitors reduced the deficit with 21 minutes left when Kulusevski threaded into Pedro Porro, who picked out Solanke to back flick beyond Muslera for his sixth goal of the season.
There would be no dramatic finale, though, as Kulusevski sent a long-range effort wide and Spurs suffered a first defeat in Europe this season.
Interim boss Stephen Frail expects Motherwell to appoint a new manager next week and admits their first job will be to lift the players’ confidence after a 3-0 mauling at home to Ross County.A double from Ronan Hale and Connor Randall’s last-minute strike secured an impressive victory for the Staggies at Fir Park.Defeat sees the Steelmen drop into the bottom half of the Premiership tab...
Mark Hughes heaped praise on goalkeeper Gabe Breeze after Carlisle picked up a vital point in the League Two relegation battle with a goalless draw against in-form Colchester at Brunton Park.Breeze made two excellent saves from Lyle Taylor as the Cumbrians ended a four-game losing run and the former Man City boss was astounded by the 21-year-old’s performance.He said: “The game had som...
Chesterfield boss Paul Cook launched a scathing attack on his play-off hopefuls after they surrendered an early lead to lose 3-1 at Sky Bet League Two table-toppers Walsall.The Spireites enjoyed a rapid start when Jamie Grimes’ eighth-minute header put them ahead against a wobbling Walsall side, who were winless in five matches with the chasing pack closing in.However, Bim Pepple and Dylan D...
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has allayed fears of an injury scare to top scorer Erling Haaland ahead of next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid.Haaland went down clutching his leg in the latter stages of the champions’ 4-0 Premier League thrashing of Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and was immediately substituted.Losing the Norwegian would be a major blow to ...
Rotherham manager Steve Evans described Thomas Parsons’ performance as “atrocious” after the referee awarded a stoppage-time penalty from which Reading snatched a 2-1 victory in League One.Reading had led 1-0 at half-time through top scorer Harvey Knibbs but Sam Nombe levelled for Rotherham from a spot-kick in the 57th minute.With the game heading for a draw, Parsons adjudged Mil...
Michael Flynn believes his team can make a charge towards the League Two play-offs places after watching them come from 2-0 down to beat Barrow 3-2 at home.Matty Taylor scored twice before fellow substitute Ashley Hay hit the winner as the Robins continued their perfect home record in 2025.Cheltenham climbed to 13th in the table and sit eight points off seventh-placed Crewe with two games in hand....
Birmingham manager Chris Davies praised Jay Stansfield’s work ethic after he lit up St Andrew’s with the only goal of a 1-0 win to sink play-off chasing Charlton.Stansfield’s 23rd-minute strike stretched City’s lead to nine points ahead of second-placed Wycombe, with Blues boasting a game in hand.Victory was City’s 30th in all competitions as they extended their unbea...
Andoni Iraola refused to get carried away after Bournemouth fans were left dreaming of a potential Champions League adventure following a first league double over south-coast rivals Southampton.Travelling Cherries fans chanted of playing in European football’s premier competition next season after their side soared to fifth spot in the Premier League table thanks to a deserved 3-1 success at...
Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup praised his side for fighting back to draw 1-1 at Hull after he demanded “I want to see my football team back”.The Norwich boss had some tough words for his team as they trailed 1-0 at half-time to the relegation-threatened side, including for Kellen Fisher – but the player then delivered the assist for Josh Sargent’s equaliser.The Un...
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says Jota has a chance of starting against Bayern Munich after scoring and impressing in a 3-0 victory over Dundee United.Jota earned the club’s man-of-the-match award after cutting in from the left and curling home from 18 yards to double the lead given to the hosts by another impressive finish from Callum McGregor.The Portuguese winger has now started two gam...
