Champions League: How Lucas Moura became a Tottenham hero

A last-gasp goal and a hat-trick from Lucas Moura sends Tottenham Hotspur into its maiden Champions League final.

Lucas Moura celebrates after scoring the last-gasp goal that took Tottenham Hotspur into the Champions League final at the expense of Ajax.

Lucas Moura was the hero in an unlikely win as his second half hat-trick sent Tottenham Hotspur through to its maiden Champions League final, after a dramatic comeback against Ajax.

Spurs, which came into the second leg with a 1-0 deficit, found itself 3-0 down on aggregate after first half goals from Ajax captain Matthjis de Ligt and Hakim Ziyech put the Dutch team 2-0 ahead.

Mauricio Pochettino's men came out after the half-time break a different team and were spurred on by two goals in four minutes courtesy its Brazilian forward Moura.

The 28-year-old scored Tottenham's first in the 55th minute off a conter attack as he netted a brilliant finish beyond Ajax goalkeeper Onana. Four minutes later, he put the tie within touching distance for Spurs.

READ | Lucas treble sends Spurs through to maiden final

After a wonderful save by Onana to deny Llorente, Ajax failed to clear its lines. Moura was able to get to the loose ball and weave through three Ajax players in the box with his back to goal. He unleash a pinpoint finish, on the spin, into the bottom-left corner.

It looked like Ajax had done enough to sneak through to the final, with four of the five minutes of added time played. But Tottenham's hero had other plans in mind.

With just seconds left on the clock, Spurs took a free-kick from the middle of the pitch that sent Dele Alli running towards goal. At the edge of the box, Alli flicked the ball onto the path of Moura, whose precise first-time strike beat Onana and rolled into the bottom-right corner, leaving the Ajax fans stunned.

Lucas Moura has had a better second season at Tottenham after failing to hit heights when he joined the Spurs from PSG in January 2018.

He has, however, scored 10 goals in the Premier League this season. The Brazilian has proven to be pivotal for Spurs who have missed Harry Kane due to an ankle injury. He gave a glimpse of his fine form with a hat-trick against Huddesfield Town in April.

Moura had scored only two goals in the Champions League for Spurs before Wednesday's heroics.