| Match report
Spurs kicked off and started
the game passing sharply. But it didn't take long for Danny Rose to
get kicked, as is customary these days. Five minutes in, Son had a
great chance when played through by Dele Alli. Son's run was well
timed to put him in on the keeper after out-witting the offside
trap, but Subasic got a hand to the ball as the Spurs winger tried
to go around him, pushing him wide and ensuring the chance was lost.
From the resulting corner, Rose tired a volley, but missed the ball
completely.
Ten minutes into the game, Alli was robbed of the ball after Wanyama
scuffed a clearance to him. When Germain ran into the box, Eric Dier
swung a foot at the ball, which wasn't there and he kicked the
midfielder down and Monaco had a penalty. When Falcao stepped up to
take it, his recent form would have indicated that he would stick it
away, but his weak, low shot to Lloris' right saw the keeper get
down to it and push it wide, before getting up to grab the loose
ball. The spot-kick came about when a rebound took the ball into the
box after Dembele had an air kick at the ball, so it was all very
sloppy.
It was a let off for Tottenham and Germain had a good chance when
Mendy broke down their left and his shot was pushed out in front of
goal, but the Monaco man could only knock the ball up in the air for
Lloris to catch. Germain was getting into space and when Mendy's
cross from the left picked him out at the far post, his attempted
header down was blocked by Wimmer.
Decisions were going against Spurs, with a booking for Dembele, who
had been the recipient of a worse challenge than that he was booked
for and then Kane was given offside after a neat passing move, when
he looked level. Falcao got a free kick after being up-ended
following him pulling Dier's shirt. It was all a bit scrappy during
the middle period of the half, with Tottenham giving the ball away
unnecessarily, giving Falcao a shooting opportunity, which he nearly
hit the corner flag with. Sidibe curled a shot, but it went the
wrong way after he had knocked Dembele over off the ball and then
Kane was hauled down as a cross came in from the right, with no
decision given. The referee fell for Bernardo's fall when Winks
touched the ball away from him, giving another soft free-kick to the
home side.
Monaco were dangerous when in possession, but they were doing what
they did at Wembley and what Leverkusen did in winning free-kicks to
break up the play. It is a (dark) art that we are yet to learn.
Spurs were looking to get in behind the home defence, with Dele's
fine pass getting Son in on the left, but he pulled the ball back to
a red and white shirt with Rose and Kane both hoping it would find
them. As it was, Monaco broke and released Germain on the right and
his shot across the goal didn't miss the far post by much, despite
being at an acute angle.
Harry Winks was working hard and was always looking to pass forward,
almost putting Son in after a good run away from three Monaco
players. Kane was on the end of a Danny Rose cross that skidded
across the box, but his effort saw him miss the ball, which hit his
standing leg. Once more, Monaco broke after Dembele had been hauled
down, but Wimmer blocked Germain's cross.
Unfortunately, Lloris' distribution was once again putting Tottenham
under pressure, with passes straight into touch. This meant that
they had more defending to do than they could have done. It was
really surprising that while every tackle Dembele put in was a foul,
when Glik trod with his full weight onto Harry Kane's arse right in
front of the referee, he did nothing apart from the free-kick he
gave for the original foul that knocked H to the ground.
The first half should have started with a Spurs goal, but in the
end, Monaco had the better of the first 45 minutes. Tottenham had
rarely showed the incisive football they can play and it reflected
our form at the moment.
The second half started with a foul given against Spurs, quickly
followed by Winks being hit late and Tottenham not getting a
free-kick. It was the pre-cursor to the opening goal of the game for
Monaco, with Sidibe getting on the end of Mendy's cross and his
header from the edge of the six yard box found the net.
Tottenham moved the ball forward to get in the last third, but
Rose's cross was headed out for a corner. The ball ended up with
Lloris, and the ball was worked up the right, with Dier playing the
ball into Alli, with Glik pulling his arm and pulling the player
down to give Spurs a penalty. Kane struck the ball well, but it was
within Subasic's reach. There was enough power to take the ball past
him and pull Tottenham level.
Not that it lasted for long, as a ball from the right went across
the penalty area, finding Lemar, who struck a low shot across Lloris
to find the bottom corner of the net. Behind again, it would be hard
for Spurs to find a way back again.
It was a foul on Wanyama by Falcao that brought the Monaco captain a
yellow card that gave Spurs an opportunity from a set-piece. The
ball bounced up on Alli, Wanyama hooked it back across the goalmouth
and Son couldn't get a good connection allowing Subasic to block. It
didn't matter, as he was wrongly given offside anyway.
Lloris had to dive to save an effort from Bernardo, before Janssen
came on for Son and Eriksen for Dembele, as Pochettino looked to
change the game. A free-kick given for a soft contact was swung to
the far post from the left and Glik ran in around the back to volley
powerfully at goal, only to see Hugo throw up a hand to push it over
the bar from almost point-blank range. It was a superb reflex save.
It kept Spurs in the game and Janssen held the ball well when it was
played forward, then spreading the ball left for Eriksen to come
inside to shoot. The ball hit Glick and went wide with the keeper
stranded. From the corner, Dier headed at goal and Lemar hacked it
away from just outside the post. It looked like it wouldn't be
Tottenham's night even though they hadn't played at their best.
Especially when Hugo had to pull off another fine stop, when Falcao
turned Dier and his drive from twelve yards out was palmed away.
A decent move on the left found Kane just inside the corner of the
box and his shot saw Subasic fumble and it was put out for a corner.
A far post delivery ended up with Dele volleying wide, but Mendy had
a handful of shirt to put him off. There was one last chance when
Kane was brought down by Mendy, who got away without a booking, but
the same defender headed it out for a corner.
Too many players were on the edges of the game without making an
impact and while it was a far from first choice eleven, the side put
out should have been strong enough to give Monaco a decent game. As
it was Lloris kept the score respectable. At least it shows it is
not just the “Wembley effect” that our Champions League form is
influenced by. The performances haven't been good enough, but this
is the first taste of this level of football for a lot of the side.
Whether or not they get another chance soon will depend on how the
players saved for Saturday play and if the result justifies the
selection tonight.
Exiting the Champions League with a whimper is a massive
disappointment, but it does show that the squad lacks depth and the
quality against the top European sides needs to be improved. Having
said that Winks gave one of the better performances, while more
experienced players failed to produce on the night. If not for
Lloris, it could have been very embarrassing.
It makes the match against
CSKA Moscow a fight for who doesn't play in the Europa League, but
will 80,000 come to Wembley for that competition ? I think
not, but it would give the chance for Spurs to blood some youngsters
and fringe players, depending on how many injuries we were suffering.
It won't be the same, but I hope that it might allow a decent
challenge for the league, but the side need to start re-finding
their form of last season to press hard at the top of the table.
The Heathrow Spur |
