LYON, France - A 90th-minute strike by Mousa Dembele took Tottenham Hotspur through to the last 16 of soccer's Europa League at Lyon's expense yesterday, as the second leg of their tie ended 1-1 at the Stade de Gerland.
Just like in last week's first leg, the English club netted at the death to douse the hopes of their French opponents, as Spurs followed up their 2-1 win a week ago to advance 3-2 on aggregate.
Gareth Bale's brilliant stoppage-time free-kick had earned Tottenham victory in the first leg and, in Lyon, Dembele delivered a decisive blow in the final minute, stepping away from Clement Grenier and firing across Remy Vercoutre and into the far corner with a vicious left-footed strike.
Lyon, who had led for much of the game through Maxime Gonalons' headed opener, were left deflated, as Spurs march on to a last-16 tie against Inter Milan.
The North London side probably deserved to progress, but they were also fortunate when German referee Wolfgang Stark waved away strong Lyon claims for a penalty in the second half when Brad Friedel appeared to bring down Alexandre Lacazette inside the area.
Joining Spurs in the next round were fellow English travellers Newcastle, who thanked Shola Ameobi's third European goal of the season for a 1-0 win at Metalist Kharkiv, the Ukrainians who held the Magpies to a goalless stalemate last week.