Top 10 iconic Tottenham Hotspur games of the decade (2010-2019)

#10 Ajax 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur, Champions League – 8 May, 2019

Lucas Moura's stunning hat-trick gave Tottenham the ultimate Champions League comeback against Ajax

Tottenham’s road to the semi-finals of the 2018-19 Champions League had been a fraught one, as they’d been on the verge of group stage elimination before a late charge saw them take 7 points from their final 3 games, and they’d needed a late VAR intervention to overcome Manchester City in the quarter-finals. Nobody could’ve guessed that the best comeback was yet to happen.

Drawn against talented Dutch side Ajax in the semi-finals, Spurs got off to a bad start by losing the first leg 0-1, and if they’d hoped for a quick start in the second leg, they were sorely mistaken. Matthijs De Ligt scored after just 5 minutes, and when Hakim Ziyech added a second on 35 minutes, it looked like Mauricio Pochettino’s side were dead and buried.

Ajax underestimated the spirit of the London side though, and when Pochettino sent on towering striker Fernando Llorente to replace Victor Wanyama, the tide began to turn. The Dutch side’s teenage captain De Ligt was simply bullied by the Spanish veteran, and slowly, Ajax’s defence began to collapse. Lucas Moura pulled a goal back for Spurs following a break on 55 minutes, and 4 minutes later, somehow managed to find an equaliser after a wild goalmouth scramble.

But Tottenham still needed another goal if they were to reach the final in Madrid – and when Jan Vertonghen’s late header struck the bar, it felt like it wasn’t their night. Somehow though – in the 96th minute – Moussa Sissoko’s long ball was touched on by Llorente, and Dele Alli’s flick found the onrushing Lucas, who slotted home for a hat-trick, giving his side the ultimate Champions League comeback.

The fairytale didn’t end in the way Spurs wanted it to - they were beaten 2-0 in the final by Liverpool – but despite Pochettino’s reign only lasting another six months after this game, Tottenham fans will never forget this special night in Amsterdam, one of their club’s greatest-ever victories.