Spurs came in the match knowing that two goals were what they needed to go a step further in their Champions League campaign after a vital goal from the mighty German side put Tottenham 1-0 down. However, without the likes of Harry Kane and Heung Min-Son with new signing Steven Bergwijn also on the sidelines due to injury, things were already looking to go downhill.
Main Spurs missing
Tottenham striker Harry Kane and winger Heung Min-Son were out of the match due to injury. This wasn’t the first time Kane was injured for a Champions League tie due to a hamstring problem which he suffered from on their New Years’ game against Southampton. Son had broken his arm playing against a tough Aston Villa side away from home where he broke their hearts with a late winner. A fact which Spurs fans did not want to know had stated that the pair average 1.3 goals per game—albeit being the most prolific partnership in the Premier League with a total of 102 goals between them. Steven Bergwijn was also a dismal loss after his brilliant debut goal against Manchester City just a month earlier which got him to become an instant Tottenham star.
“No attack” doesn’t mean “no defense”
Tottenham had a depleted attack, but that wasn’t an excuse for their miserable defence. The first goal let in could have been stopped from the captain if he stretched a little bit more to his right and getting a little bit more hand on the second goal could have meant Spurs still had a chance in the game. But both errors were costly as the game proved to conclude as the third goal put the game in bed. As for the defenders, they were all over the place meaning Leipzig winger Angeliño was too often left with loads of space on the left side of the pitch putting regular balls into the box which allowed the second goal in. Scrambling to put the ball away, Tottenham were buried as Forsberg smashed the ball into crush Spurs’ hopes of reaching another Quarter-Final.
Comments made after the game
Spurs midfielder Dele Alli sounded extremely low in confidence, a contradiction of how he sounded before the game when he said that Tottenham had to believe. They certainly didn’t and that was what caused Alli to give a painful press conference on their poor performance loathing the fact that there was no character in the side all throughout the 90 minutes. As for manager Jose Mourinho, “we were like a gun without any bullets” was the perfect example of how Spurs were. However, there were too many excuses made by Mourinho during that conference for the lack of attack covering any excuse for their defense which was woeful and that was just not good enough.
Spurs being ‘Spursy’ yet again
Known to be bottling it time and time again, Tottenham are running out of time to win a trophy before the fans get a bit restless with some already comfortably in that zone. Certainly a performance like this in any form of professional football is not good enough to get anything but a loss as many would see it.
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