Gilberto finished at Spurs as slip-up almost proves costly
Gilberto was at fault for Artem Dzuba’s opener in the 2-2 draw as Spurs came close to crashing out of the UEFA Cup, with goals from Luka Modric and Tom Huddlestone earning them the draw they needed to progress.
“He was quite happy to come off,” Redknapp said. “There’s not really a way back for him here.
“The boy doesn’t want to play here. He’s a nice guy but just doesn’t feel confident playing here.”
Dzuba added a second for the Russians and if the score stayed the same, Redknapp’s men would have been eliminated as NEC Nijmegen beat Udinese 2-0.
The comeback meant Spurs finished second in Group D and earn a clash against a Champions League drop-out in the next round.
“We gave two bad goals away, we played that badly,” Redknapp said. “It gave them a lift and but we showed character to get back at them.”
It was Gilberto’s first appearance under Redknapp and only his second this season, with the other match also seeing him substituted against PSV at the interval under Juande Ramos.
Dzuba grabbed the opener but Gilberto was at fault. Dzuba’s second in the 33rd minute was also farcical.
The beanpole forward tapped the ball around Didier Zokora and was allowed to skip beyond the defence and round Gomes.
Redknapp’s response at the interval was to take off Gilberto and put on Aaron Lennon. Modric then pulled one back for the hosts, tucking his finish under Pletikosa from Lennon’s pull-back from the right.
Huddlestone levelled on 74 minutes with a thumping header beyond Pletikosa from Bale’s cross.
NEC Nijmegen’s victory against Udinese made the comeback all the more important, with Redknapp’s men finishing second in the group — and earning a clash against a Champions League drop-out next.
Meanwhile Manchester City manager Mark Hughes saw his side finish top of their UEFA Cup group — despite being beaten 3-1 in Spain.
Jonathan Pereira and Oscar Serrano scored in the first half with Juan Valera also finding the target. Substitute Felipe Caicedo scored a late consolation goal for City.
Paris St Germain squeezed through to the last 32 on goal difference after thrashing already-qualified FC Twente at the Parc des Princes. PSG finished level on points with Racing Santander, who beat Manchester City but Paul Le Guen’s side’s better goal difference enabled them to clinch third spot.
Elsewhere Jonathan Bottinelli struck the only goal as Sampdoria booked their spot in the last 32 and sent highly-fancied Sevilla crashing out.
Bottinelli bundled in Reto Ziegler’s free-kick with 15 minutes to go as Samp, who had started the game two points behind second-placed Sevilla, claimed one of the three qualifying places in Group C. For Sevilla this defeat, combined with Stuttgart’s victory over Standard Liege, shattered their hopes of a third UEFA Cup title in four years having also won the trophy in 2006 and 2007.
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