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Crisis? What crisis? Tonight’s Champions League fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium saw Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs side thump Red Star Belgrade 5-0, not only breaking a winless run dating back to September 28th but also giving them their biggest ever win in Europe’s top competition.
Three first-half goals – one from Harry Kane and two from Heung-min Son – gave Tottenham a big lead going into half time, and Red Star had no answer in the second half, eventually conceding a further two goals from Erik Lamela and Kane again.
After being humiliated 2-7 by Bayern Munich in their last Champions League fixture, this was just the kind of emphatic win Pochettino’s side needed to right the ship – in Europe at least. Here are 3 reasons why Tottenham beat Red Star Belgrade.
#1 Spurs finally created chances
Tottenham’s last two fixtures – their diabolical 3-0 loss to Brighton and their disappointing 1-1 draw with Watford – saw the Lilywhites have the majority of possession, and yet struggle to create many chances. The two games saw Spurs take 15 shots in total leaving fans to question how they would create goalscoring chances if their usual playmaker Christian Eriksen wasn’t on form or as it was against Watford, was left out altogether.
Well, Eriksen didn’t play tonight and yet Tottenham scored the most goals they’ve managed against high-level opposition since Boxing Day and in all honesty, they could’ve got more. Pochettino’s side had 19 shots – 12 of them on target – and if Erik Lamela, in particular, had been more clinical, who knows what the score might’ve been.
The difference appeared to be the pace, energy and aggression that Tottenham came into the game with. Without Eriksen, the system appeared to be almost a 4-2-4, with Moussa Sissoko and Tanguy Ndombele playing deeply and Dele Alli sitting in his preferred position – linking play from the middle forward just behind Harry Kane – with Lamela and Heung-min Son as wide forwards.
Sure, Red Star’s defence wasn’t up to much, but the sweeping attacks that Spurs were using tonight – cutting inside from the wide areas and bringing Ben Davies and Serge Aurier forward – were much more like the Spurs we’ve become used to over the past few seasons. Evidently, there’s life after Eriksen after all.
#2 Red Star’s defence was diabolical
For as well as Tottenham played tonight, it must be said that their opponents weren’t up to much. Prior to this game their Champions League form hadn’t looked too bad – they were defeated 3-0 by Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena, but came back with a 3-1 home victory against Olympiacos to give them a chance of making the knockout stages. Judging by tonight’s performance, the idea of the Serbian side making the knockouts is laughable.
The first quarter of the game saw them concede two goals, but in reality, it could’ve been far more. Their midfield simply went missing entirely – Moussa Sissoko and Tanguy Ndombele had no issues in controlling the centre of the pitch – and their defence left huge gaps too, enabling Tottenham’s attack to slice them open time after time again.
The Serbian side did settle down in the latter part of the first half, and while they never really threatened Pochettino’s side, it did look like they could perhaps come out swinging in the second half. A ridiculous mistake by Marko Marin allowed Ndombele to steal the ball, and seconds later Son had his second goal.
From there it was essentially game over, and a 5-0 loss largely flattered Red Star. This was a big win for Spurs and could go a long way to rehabilitating their season – but the truth is they’ll face much harder opponents in the majority of their Premier League games.
#3 Harry Kane remains one of Europe’s deadliest marksmen
In a performance as good as tonight’s, it’s always going to be hard to single out a key player; Heung-min Son produced his best performance in a long time and deserved his two goals, Erik Lamela was fantastic outside of his finishing and Dele Alli was at his scheming best. But once again, it’s hard not to point to Harry Kane as Tottenham’s most impressive performer.
The England captain – who is now holding the armband at Spurs too thanks to the arm injury suffered by Hugo Lloris – came under some fire after Tottenham’s recent games against Brighton and Watford for being somewhat of a peripheral figure, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth tonight.
Most of Spurs’ best plays went through the striker somehow; he didn’t get any assists tonight but made the pass for Serge Aurier to cross for Erik Lamela’s goal, and could easily have set up two more for the Argentine had Lamela’s finishing been sharper. And of course, his flicked header set Pochettino’s side off and then his second goal – taken from an improbable angle while surrounded by two defenders – sealed the victory.
On this form, it’s arguable that Kane is perhaps Europe’s deadliest marksman. The fact that he’s constantly adding more strings to his bow – the ability to collect the ball in deeper areas and bring his teammates into attacks, for instance – makes him an even more terrifying opponent. With him in the side, Spurs can never truly be counted out of any game.
