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In a shocking result in the Europa League tonight, Dinamo Zagreb turned around a two-goal deficit to dump Tottenham Hotspur out of the tournament.
A hat-trick from Mislav Orsic was enough to give Dinamo the victory on the night, sending them into the quarter-finals, while Tottenham will rue what might’ve been.
Jose Mourinho’s men looked lethargic from the off, and nobody was really surprised when Orsic opened the scoring on 62 minutes.
But Spurs simply couldn’t get anything going even after that, and another goal from Orsic sent the tie into extra-time on 82 minutes.
The second period of added time then started in the worst possible way for Tottenham, as Orsic dribbled past multiple players to finish his hat-trick.
And despite their best efforts, Spurs couldn’t find the away goal that would’ve sent them through.
Here are five talking points from Tottenham’s 3-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb.
#1 Dinamo Zagreb and Mislav Orsic in particular were excellent
To give credit where it’s due, Dinamo Zagreb, and Mislav Orsic, in particular, were largely excellent tonight.
They out-fought Tottenham from the off, restricted their chances, and when they opened the scoring, it felt inevitable that they’d level the tie soon after.
Quite how the Croatian side managed it given the events of this week – including the jailing of manager Zoran Mamic – is anyone’s guess. But this night will go down in the history of their club.
And naturally, most of the praise must go to Orsic. His hat-trick was absolutely fantastic, particularly the first and third goals, although questions can be asked of Tottenham’s defending.
At the end of the day, Dinamo deserved to win this tie based on their performance tonight, and they now rightfully move into the quarter-finals.
#2 What happened to Tottenham?
On the flip side, this was comfortably one of the worst performances of the season for Tottenham.
Jose Mourinho sent a largely full-strength side out, including the likes of Harry Kane and Lucas Moura. Including substitutes, only the injured Son Heung-min and the suspended Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg were not involved.
And somehow, to a man, Tottenham were basically woeful.
There was the odd spark of life from the likes of Gareth Bale and the returning Giovani Lo Celso. But for the most part, Mourinho’s side looked lethargic, out of ideas, and almost hungover at times.
Essentially, they looked like a team who figured the job was already done after their 2-0 victory in the first leg, and they seemed to come to Zagreb to coast.
Quite who is to blame for this is a major question mark right now. But this loss now leaves Tottenham needing to beat Manchester City in the EFL Cup final to salvage their season.
And naturally, right now, that looks doubtful.
#3 Does this defeat make Mourinho’s position at Tottenham untenable?
The big question following this defeat is whether Jose Mourinho’s position as Tottenham boss is now untenable.
The Portuguese already looked wobbly following a poor run of form in the Premier League. But it felt like he had some credit in the bank for his side’s performances in the Europa League and EFL Cup.
Now Spurs are out of one of those competitions though, what else is there to salvage from the season?
The Europa League looked like Tottenham’s best chance of regaining a Champions League spot for the 2021-22 season. And it’s not like they’ve lost to AC Milan or Manchester United.
Dinamo Zagreb, for as good as they were tonight, should’ve been beatable – particularly as Tottenham took a two-goal lead into the second leg of the tie.
Essentially, it looks like the message Mourinho is giving his players is to avoid a loss rather than to actually look for a win. And right now, it isn’t working at all.
There would definitely be issues for Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy if he were to dispense with Mourinho – his payoff, for one. But right now, it looks like the Portuguese is taking the side backward.
#4 Will Harry Kane now want to leave Tottenham?
Outside of Jose Mourinho’s future, the big question for Tottenham fans will now surround Harry Kane's future.
Given tonight’s terrible collapse, as well as his side’s poor form in recent months, will the England captain now try to force his way out of North London in the summer?
Naturally, Tottenham will not want to sell their best player. Kane is under contract until 2024, and if Daniel Levy were to demand a world-record fee for him, it’s doubtful any side would be willing to pay it.
After all, the COVID-19 pandemic means that money is tight even for Europe’s biggest clubs right now.
But Tottenham are one such club, and the pandemic has cost them millions. If say, Manchester City or Paris St. Germain were to wave £150m at Levy this summer for an unhappy Kane, would he really be able to resist?
It’s a question that Tottenham fans will be horrified by the thought of. But the truth is that Kane is a Champions League-caliber player who deserves better than this.
#5 If Mourinho remains at Spurs, how can he fix this mess?
Given he’s under contract until the end of the 2022-23 campaign and would cost a fortune to fire, there’s every chance that Tottenham persist with Jose Mourinho as their manager.
So if the Portuguese does remain in the hot-seat, then what exactly needs to change in order to allow Tottenham to succeed?
The biggest problem area right now is clearly in defense.
Neither of Tottenham’s right-backs – Matt Doherty and Serge Aurier – look convincing defensively. And they’re not good enough going forward to make up for that.
Sergio Reguilon is stronger on the left side, but the center of Tottenham’s defense right now is incredibly soft.
Davinson Sanchez is making the same ridiculous mistakes he made when he first arrived at the club in 2017. Eric Dier’s positional sense and awareness just don’t seem there yet – understandable given he’s almost learning on the job after a career spent as a holding midfielder.
And while Toby Alderweireld can lead from the back, he doesn’t have the pace to be considered a top-level defender at this stage.
And with a manager as defensively-minded as Mourinho, having an unreliable back-line is just not going to allow Tottenham to ever find success.
Essentially, Daniel Levy has a choice in the near future: either invest in a new defense, or invest in a new manager.
