Tottenham need to produce a reaction in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night and try and banish the memory of Saturday’s defeat to fierce London rivals Chelsea.
Spurs were booed off the pitch at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as they lost 1-0 to the Blues. It was the manner of the defeat in such a big match that hurt though, with Tottenham only managing one shot on target in the 90 minutes and an Expected Goals figure of 0.12.
It was one of the worst performances of any side so far this season and in such a big game for the supporters. It led to plenty of frustration but the good thing for head coach Thomas Frank and the players is that they have a game so soon to put things right.
Frank admission
Speaking after the game against Chelsea, Frank said: “In general, I think Chelsea were good. We were definitely second best. We performed badly. I think we lacked energy and intensity and that freshness, we didn’t have that. Then I think the high pressure they came with, I don’t think we solved it well enough even though we worked on it, so we need to keep working on that. I think our high pressure, we lacked a little bit in the beginning until we got on top of it and then they went up 1-0 and we are chasing. Then it’s a bad circle where we are chasing, lacking intensity and energy and bad decisions.”
Spurs take on Copenhagen in the Champions League on Tuesday night, having drawn their last two encounters in the competition – against Bodo/Glimt and Monaco.
Copenhagen are fourth in the Danish League table, and present a perfect opportunity for Spurs to get back to winning ways. Particularly when their next game in the competition is against reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Suspension risk
But Spurs could go into the game with PSG without two more players, if things do not go to plan in N17 against the Danish champions.
UEFA Champions League rules state that players will receive a suspension of one game once they pick up three yellow cards in the competition, and then after every odd-numbered yellow card thereafter too until the end of the quarter-finals.
For Spurs, both Micky van de Ven – who has been captaining the side in the absence of Cristian Romero – and Richarlison have already received two yellow cards, meaning they will miss the next game once they are booked for a third time.
If either are booked against Copenhagen, they will then miss the big match with PSG at the end of November.
