Crouch heads Spurs into Champions League

Tottenham booked a lucrative place in the Champions League in dramatic fashion as Peter Crouch's late header clinched a 1-0 win against Manchester City last night.

Harry Redknapp's team will finish at least fourth in the Premier League, guaranteeing a place in the Champions League qualifying rounds, after Crouch's 82nd-minute winner at Eastlands opened up a four-point lead over fifth-placed City with just one match to play.

A fixture dubbed a £50-million play-off for a place in Europe's elite club competition lived up to its billing as both sides went for broke, but it was Spurs who triumphed.

The presence of Ledley King, who struggles with a persistent knee injury, in Tottenham's team for a rare second appearance in quick succession showed just how important the match was.

Spurs last played in the European Cup in the 1960s and they earned the right to play against the continent's best again with a dominant display.

There were chances at both ends in an open encounter and it took fine stops from Marton Fulop to deny Spurs duo Crouch and Jermain Defoe in the second half.

Crouch finally broke the deadlock eight minutes from time when he headed home from close-range after Fulop could only push Younes Kaboul's cross into his path.