Tottenham players fall back into bad habits in Champions League opener

Equaliser: Valbuena draws Olympiakos level from the spot
Getty Images
Dan Kilpatrick @Dan_KP19 September 2019

For 14 carefree minutes, it looked like Tottenham were finally ready to do things the easy way in the Champions League.

The visitors’ undeserved two-goal lead had subdued the ear-splitting Olympiakos crowd and Spurs were looking every bit like members of the

European elite as they wound down the clock to half-time.

Ahead of a fourth straight Champions League campaign, captain Hugo Lloris was uncomfortably blunt when he said Spurs are still not the type of club who can ‘put a stamp’ on the competition despite reaching last season’s final, but you began to wonder if the Frenchman had underestimated the effect of that ­exhilarating run to Madrid.

Then, just as Spurs were resembling the teams that win these treacherous away matches without really deserving to, Olympiakos winger Daniel Podence strode into acres of space and fired past Lloris seconds before half-time.

For the second time in 17 days, Spurs squandered a two-goal lead — before the draw at Arsenal on September 1, they had not done that since May 2016 in the infamous ‘Battle of the Bridge’ — to go some way to proving Lloris’s point and raising more questions about their inability to learn from mistakes.

Like Alexandre Lacazette’s game-changing strike at Emirates Stadium, Podence’s goal felt like a failure of mentality and game-management from Pochettino’s side.

There was a certain inevitability about Olympiakos’ equaliser, a penalty won and converted by Mathieu Valbuena. The Frenchman made a spectacular meal of a foul by Jan Vertonghen but it was a needless and clumsy challenge by Spurs’ most experienced outfield player, exemplifying the naivety of a side that should know better by now.

Harry Kane could not hide his frustration afterwards, admitting he cannot understand why Spurs continue to suffer from the same failings as they did in Pochettino’s first season in charge, in 2014-15. It was a fair query given the experience of the XI fielded by the Argentine, seven of whom have been at the club since the start of his tenure. Their average age was 26.4 and, if they are not a young team any more, they too often play like one.

Spurs gave up leads to Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven as they scraped through the group stage last season and they made a habit of conceding goals at bad times throughout the competition, notably and fatally within two minutes of the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at the Wanda Metropolitano. In the last three seasons, Juventus, Barcelona, Manchester City, Ajax and Liverpool have all scored against Spurs inside 15 minutes in this competition.

Kane insisted that he does not doubt their mentality, best demonstrated by their refusal to be beaten on the way to Madrid last season, and, like at Arsenal, they rallied after Olympiakos’ second goal. But they should never have had to.

Kane won and scored a 26th-minute penalty following a foul by Yassine Meriah and Lucas Moura doubled Spurs’ lead with a brilliant strike.

In a deafening atmosphere, Kane admitted he could not hear the referee’s whistle before smashing his spot-kick down the middle but Pochettino felt it was his gameplan which ultimately fell on deaf ears.

“From the beginning we had a plan and we didn’t respect the plan,” said Pochettino. “That was what disappointed me the most.”

The manager would have been content with a two-goal lead at half-time, particularly considering Olympiakos have lost once at home in nearly a year, but Podence’s goal was the turning point and a reminder of Spurs’ frailties.

Turning point: Podence celebrates after halving the deficit
REUTERS

Ben Davies and Vertonghen were both caught upfield and the Portuguese surged between them and finished well.

There were mitigating factors in the performance, with Dele Alli — who had a goal ruled out for offside at 2-1 — and Davies making their first starts of

the season, Davinson Sanchez out-of-position at right-back and Tanguy Ndombele continuing to get up to speed after injury disrupted his start.

Pochettino and Kane both demanded an improvement afterwards and their frustration at what could prove a valuable point in an extremely hostile setting spoke of how far Spurs have come in Europe. But the manner of the performance was a reminder that despite their exploits last season, there is still a way to go.

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