UEFA Rd One 2nd Leg - Besiktas 0 Tottenham 2

Dimitar Berbatov began repaying some of his £10.9million transfer fee with an inspirational display as Tottenham made a perfect start to their UEFA Cup group campaign.

Berbatov showed vision to set up the opening goal for Hossam Ghaly but saved the best for himself with a stunning 63rd-minute strike.

The Bulgarian marksman, a summer signing from Bayer Leverkusen, rounded two Besiktas defenders on a marauding run and then beat goalkeeper Vedran Runje before finishing coolly.

It was a breathtaking goal which helped make a mockery of predictions Spurs would be lucky to leave Istanbul with a point.

Fears of the effect Besiktas' partisan home support would have on Martin Jol's side proved unfounded as although deafeningly noisy at times, the atmosphere at the Inonu Stadium was never hostile.

Spurs rose to the occasion magnificently, looking solid at the back and showing the greater fluency in attack - especially in the first half when Besiktas rarely threatened.

Indeed the Turks - managed by former Fulham boss Jean Tigana - only mustered two memorable efforts all night with Marcio blasting one of them over the crossbar.

Spurs, led by Ledley King who had recovered from his knee injury, were more inventive and displayed none of the finishing problems which have hampered their Premiership form.

This victory has seen them successfully negotiate arguably the toughest assignment of their group B campaign and they now have a great chance of qualifying for the next round.

Spurs settled quickly and Jermaine Jenas threaded a ball through for Berbatov - but Gokhan Zan cleared the danger.

The visitors appeared to got the breakthrough they were after in the 12th minute when some slick passing found Danny Murphy.

The former Liverpool and Charlton midfielder forced Vedran Runje to save, only for Berbatov to smash home the rebound. But the flag had gone up for offside and Spurs' endeavour went unrewarded.

Paul Robinson came out quickly to deal with a floating cross destined for Marcio and then Fahri Tatan had a powerful shot blocked by King as Besiktas continued to press.

Ricardinho, who spent an unsuccessful loan spell with Middlesbrough three seasons ago, fired a lethal inswinging cross with Besiktas players queueing up to meet it - but King was first to the ball.

Ibrahim Toraman was making inroads down the right with Benoit Assou-Ekotto struggling to contain him and the Besiktas midfielder set up a good chance for Burak Yilmaz which was wasted.

The home crowd were stunned into silence in the 32nd minute when Spurs took the lead with Berbatov setting up the goal, sending the 800 or so visiting fans into rapture.

The Bulgarian found Ghaly with a beautifully weighted pass and the Egyptian midfielder pulled the trigger only for Runje to save.

But once again the Besiktas goalkeeper had failed to keep hold of the ball and it squirted back out and rebounded off Ghaly into the goal.

Robinson showed fine reflexes to keep out a powerful free kick from Yilmaz which he clipped high in the air, making a second save as the ball descended with several Besiktas players lurking.

Berbatov released Murphy, who forced a save from Runje, while at the other end Marcio blazed a great opportunity high over the crossbar.

Marcio briefly threatened for Besiktas until he was closed down by Pascal Chimbonda and then a Ghaly cross was easy collected by Runje at the other end.

Ricardinho was flagged for offside following a defence-splitting pass from Sedar Kurtulus in an otherwise quiet opening to the second half.

Kurtulus went close from just outside the area before Marcio was outjumped by Michael Dawson as Besiktas began to look more purposeful in attack.

Spurs had hardly had a sniff so far in the second half but magnificent skills from Berbatov sent them 2-0 ahead in the 63rd minute.

Keane released the Bulgarian who beat Baki Mercimek and Tatan before finally outwitting Runje and finding the back of the net.

Spurs nearly doubled their lead shortly after when Berbatov centred to Keane - only for the Republic of Ireland captain to be denied by the crossbar.

Besiktas controlled possession in the closing stages but their lack of penetration meant Spurs' two-goal lead remained comfortably intact.

Martin Jol hailed Dimitar Berbatov after the Bulgarian striker fired Tottenham to a 2-0 victory over Besiktas.

Jol said: 'Berbatov showed some flashes of his quality. We've always said if our strikers can make a difference then we will be a good team.

'Berbatov is the extra quality we have up front. It was a terrific goal and hopefully it will break the spell as we have struggled to score this season.'

He added: 'Our defence was excellent as well. We were too strong to concede goals. If we score goals as well then that makes us tough to beat.'

Most of the pre-match build-up centred on the hostile reception Spurs could expect at the Inonu Stadium but the Besiktas fans were noisy rather than intimidating.

They showed their sportsmanship by applauding Spurs from the pitch - a gesture that merited warm praise from Jol.

He said: 'To be acknowledged like that is exactly what you want, not having things thrown at you. For something like this to happen in Turkey is evidence we were rated tonight.

'We wanted to silence the crowd but after a couple of minutes we thought it would be impossible to silence a crowd like that. They showed some respect.

'The Turkish are fanatical but they showed today they can be good supporters. If you applaud the away team it says it all.

'In the past a few things happened and that was probably why we didn't bring as many supporters but it should be like it was today.'

Besiktas have never beaten an English club in Istanbul and Jol revealed that was used as motivation.

'I'm very satisfied with the three points. It was a very good experience for us. They were a very phonetical crowd, a very good crowd,' he said.

'We said before the game let's enjoy it because that's the main thing. We fought for every yard and started off very well, controlling the first 20 minutes.

'It's difficult to play against a proud side like Besiktas. We scored the second goal at the right moment and then had three or four chances after that.

'We were drawn in one of the best groups and three points away at Besiktas is a great result for us.

'Besiktas don't lose much in Europe, although we knew we'd be the first English team to lose over here so that helped spur us on.'

Besiktas coach Jean Tigana felt Berbatov was the difference between the sides.

He said: 'His goal was fantastic. When you have a player like that it is a lot easier to win. He can change a game by himself.

'Tottenham were very good. They were strong in midfield and we could not find a solution to that.'