A curse dispelled, a giant slayed, a book bringing bad luck and a forthcoming meeting with the Old Lady: at times Tottenham Hotspur’s season has played out more like a weird, magical realism story than a sporting campaign, refusing to fit neatly into a narrative of success or failure. There have been plenty of tales of the unexpected, from a glorious victory over Real Madrid to a succession of failures against sides they ought to have beaten. In a season of few routine results this was a welcome win, leapfrogging Tottenham above Arsenal and Liverpool into the top four and blurring the memory of their November slump. Burnley, Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion had already landed damaging results at Wembley, perhaps fatally puncturing a…

Source: The Times December 13, 2017 22:18 UTC