Tottenham beats APOEL in Champions League group play

LONDON (AP) — Washing away the pain of last year’s botched Champions League campaign, Tottenham completed this group stage as Europe’s leading team.

A 3-0 victory over an ineffective APOEL on Wednesday took the team to 16 points, the highest total of any team this season, and first place in Group H ahead of holder Real Madrid.

That’s some progress for a team that could not even make the knockout phase last season, and is only appearing in the Champions League for the third time.

With top spot already secured, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino even had the luxury of giving fringe players a run-out at Wembley Stadium.