Tottenham played like Barcelona in their Europa League match

Tottenham Hotspurs – Barcelona comparison inevitable

As was the case versus Anzhi Makhachkala in the previous round, this was far from an easy win for Tottenham Hotspur. Nevertheless, it’s three wins out of three and nine points for Andre Villas-Boas’ men, who surely have qualification to the knockout rounds firmly in sight.

Key Stats:

As expected, Spurs enjoyed the lion’s share of possession and were neat in their retention of it. However, as their attacks broke down due to misplaced passes and Sheriff’s defensive efforts, the home side was given counter-attacking opportunities and they used them to cause Spurs’ back line quite a few worries, which should no doubt be of some concern to Villas-Boas.

They enjoyed more corners and more shots than Spurs as they tried over and over to sucker punch them and would’ve gotten on the score sheet had it not been for a combination of poor finishing, last-ditch heroics from Vlad Chiriches, and a lack of offside awareness. They may have lost, but they can be proud of their efforts.

Man of the Match:

Jan Vertonghen, his goal aside, had a decent game at the heart of Spurs’ defence, earning an impressive 101 points. He made two clearances and one successful tackle as he tried to deal with Sheriff’s deadly counter-attacks. On the ball he was very efficient, completing all but three of his passes to finish the game with an outstanding completion percentage of 97. He also made five successful take-on’s as he got forward into midfield in order to try and affect his team’s attacking play. It was a solid all-round performance from the Belgian.

Performance Score:

The Performance Score chart doesn’t reflect Sheriff’s commendable effort. As was mentioned, they could’ve easily taken a point or all three from Spurs had it not been for the different factors listed. Spurs may have dominated possession, but they proved vulnerable on the counter-attack and let themselves down on a few occasions with their final ball in the attacking third. A win is a win, but Sheriff deserve credit and Spurs still have some polishing to do.

Key Observations:

Jermain Defoe made clear that he still has goals left in him, despite not featuring as regularly as he would like. Congratulations to him on scoring his 22nd European goal, which equals a long-standing club record.

Erik Lamela is still finding life as a Spurs player to be tough. He wasn’t particularly outstanding in this game and was hauled off after 61 minutes as a result. It’s obviously not a question of talent with him; he just needs time and to keep working hard. The young Argentine failed to create a single chance last night.

Vlad Chiriches was again very good in this game. He is extremely comfortable on the ball and showed his versatility by going out to right-back after Michael Dawson was subbed on for the injured Ezekiel Fryers. He looks to be a quality signing already and seems destined for great things. He won all three of his tackles too.

Furthermore, Spurs made a staggering 761 passes with a 90% pass accuracy, this highlights the control Spurs had on the game, but they will be frustrated that that they allowed Sheriff to have 12 attempts, given Spurs supremacy on the ball.