Spurs go down to Belgium in Europe League

Paris (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur have work to do in their Europa League round of 32 tie against Gent after losing 1-0 in the first leg in Belgium on Thursday.

The only goal of the game came just before the hour mark when French striker Jeremy Perbet scored at the second attempt from a Danijel Milicevic cutback, as Gent coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck celebrated his 53rd birthday with a win.

Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris pushed a Milicevic shot onto the post while Harry Kane had earlier struck an upright at the other end.

It was a disappointing performance from Mauricio Pochettino’s side, who must now look to turn the tie around in next week’s return if they are to avoid being eliminated from a second European competition in barely two months.

Spurs, who are third in the Premier League, were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage.

Elsewhere, Fiorentina won 1-0 at Borussia Moenchengladbach with a solitary Federico Bernardeschi goal, while Lyon romped to a 4-1 victory at AZ Alkmaar, Alexandre Lacazette scoring twice.

There were also wins for Krasnodar, Rostov, Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Copenhagen.

Manchester United face Saint-Etienne and Villarreal take on Roma in the pick of the late kick-offs.