Gareth Bale hit a second half hat-trick as Spurs battled back from four goals down to lose narrowly in the San Siro.
Bale hits hat-trick as ten-man Spurs just fall short in San Siro
Gareth Bale hit a second half hat-trick as Spurs battled back from four goals down to lose narrowly in the San Siro.
The Londoners were left shocked by three Inter Milan goals in the first 14 minutes via a Javier Zanetti opener, a Samuel Eto'o penalty - after Heurelho Gomes had been sent off - and Dejan Stankovic.
Eto'o then added his second of the night on 35 minutes to leave the reigning European champions well on top at the break.
But Spurs produced a spirited comeback in the second period and Bale hit a stunning hat-trick (52, 90, 90) to further enhance his burgeoning reputation as Harry Redknapp's side just fell short and slumped to their first UEFA Champions League Group A defeat.
Despite Bale's exploits, the defeat was a reality check for Redknapp, who had vowed to stick to his attacking principles.
But after watching his side ship eight goals in three European away games this season, he must surely make them harder to beat on their travels.
They looked anything but at home in this company in a calamitous opening 14 minutes that saw them three goals and a man down.
Inter cut them to shreds in just 70 seconds, easily drawing Alan Hutton out of position and allowing Eto'o to feed Zanetti, who expertly curled the ball beyond Gomes.
Spurs tried to settle but Gomes was sent off six minutes later when Wesley Sneijder played a delightful ball inside Benoit Assou-Ekotto to Jonathan Biabiany and the keeper came rushing out and brought down the Inter winger.
Inexplicably
Referee Damir Skomina inexplicably showed a red card to Assou-Ekotto before his assistants helped him rectify the decision.
Tottenham sacrificed Luka Modric - who had been playing off Peter Crouch in the 'Rafael van der Vaart role' - for substitute keeper Carlo Cudicini before Eto'o eventually stepped up in the 11th minute to beat the Italian from the spot.
Inter were merciless and, as 10-man Spurs retreated to the edge of their box, a lovely passing move ended with Stankovic slipping the ball past an unsighted Cudicini.
Tottenham had already recovered from such a dramatic collapse in their Champions League rookie season but Inter were anything but Young Boys.
The Italians' perfect start was spoilt when Cristian Chivu - wearing Petr Cech-style headgear - was cautioned for an untidy tackle on Aaron Lennon.
Stankovic twice went close to a fourth and Crouch should have pulled a goal back when he headed over Lennon's fine left-foot cross.
But Inter again found the net when Coutinho was given an age to pick out Eto'o's run in behind the visiting defence 10 minutes from the break. Cudicini got hands on the in-form Cameroon striker's finish but it was not enough to keep it out.
The keeper also spilled shots from Coutinho and Maicon before the break but recovered well.
Second period
Inter lost Stankovic to injury in the opening moments of the second half and, when it was briefly 10 against 10, Lennon's latest cross narrowly missed the head of Tom Huddlestone.
Davide Santon eventually came on to restore the hosts to full strength but when the next goal came, it went to Spurs - and it was a beauty.
Bale carried the ball from inside his own half, running almost 70 yards and brilliantly beating two players before finding the corner of the net with a stunning finish.
Normal service quickly resumed and Santon forced a good near-post save from Cudicini, while Sneijder went close to matching Bale's effort before Assou-Ekotto wasted more fine work from the winger with a horrible finish.
The hosts withdrew Chivu for Goran Pandev just past the hour mark, with Spurs following midway through the half when former Inter striker Robbie Keane replaced Crouch.
Inter's final change saw Ivan Cordoba introduced for Biabiany, with Spurs soon responding by withdrawing Huddlestone for the combative Wilson Palacios.
Coutinho went close from outside the box in the closing minutes, Hutton curled over from similar range and Palacios was booked for a poor tackle on Lucio.
What followed was the most incredible of finishes as Bale netted in the 90th and 91st minutes to complete his hat-trick.
The winger produced a carbon-copy strike to his opening goal before scoring again in stoppage-time to set up the briefest of grandstand finishes.
The defeat leaves Redknapp's side second in the table - two points ahead of Twente and Werder Bremen, who drew 1-1 in Holland - while Inter went three points clear at the top.
| Internazionale |
Team Statistics |
Tottenham Hotspur |
| 4 |
Goals |
3 |
| 4 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 10 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 7 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
| 6 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 3 |
Corners |
2 |
| 8 |
Fouls |
9 |
| 1 |
Offsides |
2 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
1 |
| 92.4 |
Passing Success |
87.6 |
| 11 |
Tackles |
16 |
| 45.5 |
Tackles Success |
62.5 |
| 61.6 |
Possession |
38.4 |
| 54.4 |
Territorial Advantage |
45.6 |
|
