Champions League 2018/19: 3 reasons why Tottenham beat Ajax

#2 Tottenham showed an insane amount of heart and desire

Tottenham showed a massive amount of heart and desire to overturn Ajax's lead

Sometimes in any sport it’s not all about skill levels or luck, it’s simply about heart, desire and who wants it more. In the first half tonight Tottenham were largely dominated by Ajax, and when the half-time whistle blew, most of their players looked exhausted, downhearted, or a mix of both. But thankfully for Spurs fans, it doesn’t appear to be in this current team’s DNA to throw the towel in at all.

Tottenham’s players came back onto the pitch earlier than Ajax’s and looked fired up from the off, with Danny Rose in particular showing a clear desire to turn the deficit around. And indeed, it was the England left-back that started the move that ended in Lucas Moura’s first goal. From there, Pochettino’s men absolutely took the game to Ajax, looking determined to, at worst, go down swinging. And it basically looked like the young Dutch side didn’t know how to deal with it.

It was the sheer desire that allowed Lucas to steal the ball during a goalmouth scramble and hit his second goal, but plenty of teams would’ve crumbled after it seemed like the one big chance they were after – Jan Vertonghen’s header – didn’t go in. Not Tottenham, who kept on pushing – even after a late corner failed to end in a goal – and somehow, thanks to a long ball from Moussa Sissoko and a deft flick from Dele Alli into Moura’s path, they found a way.

Apparently, whatever miracles Liverpool can pull out, Spurs can too!