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It wasn’t their best performance, but Tottenham Hotspur did enough to make it through to the knockout stages of the Europa League tonight by drawing 3-3 with LASK.
If Tottenham had expected an easy game in Austria, they were clearly mistaken. LASK knew that only a victory would give them hopes of making the knockouts and came out to take the game to Jose Mourinho’s side, who looked strangely disjointed.
The home team took the lead through Peter Michorl’s curving shot, only for Tottenham to equalize from the penalty spot on the cusp of half-time, with Gareth Bale slotting home.
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Son Heung-min then put Tottenham ahead with a cool finish on 56 minutes, but with just over five minutes to go, Johannes Eggestein fired home an equalizer.
Tottenham went ahead again two minutes later, again from the spot, with Dele Alli scoring this time. But a spectacular goal from Mamoudou Karamoko in added time meant the game ended in a draw.
Here are five talking points from Tottenham’s draw with LASK.
#1 Tottenham looked strangely disjointed from the start of the game
Tottenham have been impressive in recent weeks, both in Europe and in the Premier League. But right from the start of tonight’s game, something didn’t feel right.
Jose Mourinho deployed plenty of his first-choice XI – including Son Heung-min, Tanguy Ndombele, and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. But for some reason, things didn’t click.
All of Tottenham’s players were guilty of misplacing passes and making sloppy, rushed decisions – particularly in the first half. And while things improved somewhat in the second period, this was definitely not a vintage performance from Mourinho’s men.
So what went wrong? It’s hard to say. Perhaps Tottenham simply underestimated LASK, who were comfortably swept aside in North London back in October. However, they should’ve known that the Austrian side had nothing to lose and would go for it tonight.
Tottenham fans will be hoping this disjointed performance will be a one-off and won’t mean anything going into the weekend’s North London derby.
Of course, it could’ve been worse – Leicester City lost 1-0 to Ukrainian side Zorya. But overall, this felt nothing like last week’s fun Europa League game with Ludogorets.
#2 LASK were good value for their draw
Tottenham might’ve looked disjointed tonight, but simply blaming their performance for the 3-3 draw would be unfair to LASK. The Austrian side worked incredibly hard tonight, and overall, they were definitely deserving of at least a draw.
Knowing that they needed a win to give themselves any chance of qualifying for the knockout stages, they came out to attack. And early in the first half, they created a number of chances. Davinson Sanchez made a key block at one point and Joe Hart also making a handful of good saves.
When Peter Michorl put them ahead, it was only what they deserved. And at that stage, it was easy to see a loss coming for Tottenham in the mold of their defeat to Antwerp.
Of course, the Austrian side ended up shooting themselves in the foot twice by giving away needless penalties. Both incidents could’ve been avoided and had they been, LASK would’ve won this game.
The draw means they won’t make it into the knockout stages, but they should be able to walk away with their heads held high tonight.
#3 Joe Hart had a poor match for Tottenham
Early in the first half, it looked like Joe Hart would be Tottenham’s most outstanding performer tonight. The former England international made a number of decent early saves to prevent LASK from scoring and looked generally confident.
However, when Peter Michorl’s curving shot beat him, alarm bells should’ve been ringing. The shot did dip somewhat as it curved towards goal. But upon viewing a replay, it was clear that Hart probably could’ve reached the ball before it hit the net.
And LASK’s second goal was even worse. Johannes Eggestein’s shot was a powerful one, but it appeared that Hart would get to it comfortably.
However, despite getting a hand to the ball, he could only turn it into his net. The way this happened was eerily reminiscent of how Hart had conceded key goals on England duty during Euro 2016.
When you add in his poor distribution throughout the game – on multiple occasions, his kicks were horribly inaccurate – this wasn’t a good match for Hart.
The former Manchester City man might be a good, experienced head to have in the dressing room at Tottenham. However, if he ever wants minutes in the Premier League, he’ll need to improve.
#4 Mourinho’s team selection was interesting
With a huge Premier League game on the horizon in the form of the North London derby, Jose Mourinho was expected to play a second-string side tonight, similarly to how he did in Tottenham’s game with Ludogorets last week.
However, the likes of Harry Kane and Sergio Reguilon were nowhere to be seen – injured, apparently. Eric Dier and Moussa Sissoko were on the bench, but Mourinho still chose to start Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Tanguy Ndombele and Son Heung-min.
Given the workload that Tottenham’s players are under this season, to start three key players in a match like this was stunning, even if Spurs did need at least a point to make the knockout stages.
But more surprising were Mourinho’s substitutes. Despite having the likes of Harry Winks and Dele Alli on the bench, the Portuguese introduced Sissoko, Steven Bergwijn, and Dier first. Again, all three players would be expected to play a part against Arsenal.
In the end, even Tottenham’s first-choice stars couldn’t really produce a great performance tonight. But fans will be wondering what Mourinho was thinking here. Did he simply need to give his players a run-out?
Or is he planning to surprise Arsenal by deploying Dele or Winks on Sunday? Only time will tell.
#5 Tottenham’s tactical switch showed they might have a ‘Plan B’ if needed
When Eric Dier was introduced for Giovani Lo Celso after 71 minutes, it seemed like the England international would slip into his old position as a holding midfielder. However, that wasn’t the case.
Tottenham actually switched to a 3-4-3 formation, with Dier forming a trio of center-backs alongside Davinson Sanchez and Japhet Tanganga. Matt Doherty and Ben Davies played as wing-backs, and Moussa Sissoko and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg acted as central midfielders.
Son Heung-min, Gareth Bale, and Steven Bergwijn were the front trio. Although curiously, by the time the game ended, that trio had become Bergwijn, Dele Alli, and Serge Aurier of all people.
The switch to 3-4-3 probably gave Tottenham and England fans flashbacks to Gareth Southgate’s stodgy Three Lions system. Either way, it was actually interesting to see Jose Mourinho go with it.
If nothing else, it’s proof that if required, Tottenham do have a ‘Plan B’ that might look to use Doherty and Sergio Reguilon in their more comfortable wing-back positions, with the front trio working in a more narrow fashion.
Whether the Portuguese uses the system in the Premier League remains to be seen, of course.
