Villas-Boas: Beating Inter would put Tottenham in a great position to win Europa League

22 Feb 2013 10:14:00

The Portuguese manager says his side will be finely poised to challenge for the trophy if they can get past the Italians in a repeat of their Champions League encounter of 2010

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas believes that his side will be in a great position to win the Europa League if they can see off Inter.

Spurs qualified for the last 16 of the competition after overcoming Lyon, with a 1-1 draw on Thursday that saw them win 3-2 on aggregate.

The north Londoners required a last-minute goal from Mousa Dembele to ensure their progression in the tournament after Maxime Gonalons had opened the scoring for the hosts.

Spurs will now face Inter, who comfortably beat Cluj, and Villas Boas is looking forward to the tie.

Villas-Boas told reporters: "We just want to recreate a special night everyone remembers at the club.

"Going through against Inter Milan and Lyon [would] put you in a good place to win the competition."

The tie will undoubtedly evoke memories of the last time the two sides met, in the Champions League in 2010 when Spurs lost 4-3 at San Siro before beating the Italian side 3-1 at White Hart Lane.

Welsh star Gareth Bale dazzled against Inter, but it was Dembele who drew the plaudits from Villas Boas after his late goal rescued Spurs.

"In the second half we were the better team," Villas-Boas added.

"We created some chances and we were rewarded with the second goal in the end. Individual players make a difference and Mousa certainly made the difference.

"If you look at the number of chances Lyon had over the two legs it would not have been fair if they had gone through."