Xavi: “Scoring in front of the fans, on a Champions League night – that makes it even more special” | OneFootball

Xavi Simons ticked off two boxes on any Spurs’ fans bucket list against Slavia Prague on Tuesday night – scoring his first goal in front of the South Stand and first for us in the UEFA Champions League in another impressive display as we ran out 3-0 winners in MD6.

Having bossed the game from his 10 position, the playmaker’s icing on the cake came in the 79th minute, when he was upended by Igoh Ogbu as he latched onto Randal Kolo Muani’s knock down in the box. Xavi picked himself up and slotted home from the penalty spot to secure our 3-0 victory - an own goal from a Pedro Porro corner in the first half and Mo Kudus’ penalty five minutes into the second half completing the scoring.

“It was a difficult game against a really aggressive team, man-to-man – it’s really hard to play against a team like this,” Xavi told us afterwards. “It doesn't matter where you go on the pitch, they will follow you, and you have to try to move them into spaces that you can maybe try to anticipate the game. The first half we had that chance, but we didn't score, and the second half we could score.

“It's really hard to play against a man-to-man team, so really happy that we could do it. I feel comfortable getting onto the ball, playing, trying to put my team-mates into better positions. I’m really happy to feel like this and we must continue like this.”

As for his goal in front of the South Stand, Xavi added: “It's always a nice feeling to score in front of the fans, and at the end, on a Champions League night, that makes it all the more special.”