Tottenham Hotspur held a 1-1 draw against Sporting CP in the last night’s UEFA Champions League game.
Throughout the game, Tottenham Hotspur was unable to click against a disciplined defence of Sporting. Coates, Ugarte, and Morita were lying deep as it reduced space for Spurs’ players to operate in the final third.
Tottenham has maintained their status of Group leader even after having a draw last night. But Sporting is now in a must-win situation against Frankfurt to qualify for the next round of the Champions League in the next game.
Tottenham will meet Marseille in the next Champions League fixture, they will also have to secure a win or a draw to seal their further progression in the tournament.
Match Day Activity
Antonio Conte returned to his traditional 3-4-3 line-up with Harry Kane as the sole striker with Son and Lucas Moura on the flanks. Lucas received his first start of this season after being heavily linked with a move away in the summer. Hojbjerg and Romero have returned from their injuries and made it into starting XI.
Read more: Canada vs Croatia: Watch an Electric Alphonso Davies Scores the Fastest Goal of the World Cup
Rúben Amorim kept the same formation as Conte with a 3-4-3 formation. The former Tottenham man Edwards was leading the attack with Paulinho and Trinacao. Goalkeeper Adan made his return from suspension.
In the first half former Tottenham Hotspur man, Marcus Edwards led the score line 1-0 with a brilliant long-range low shot in the 20th minute, as Sporting dominated the first half.
Sebastian Coates also netted the ball with his hand from a corner in the 40th minute of the game. He saw a yellow for that incident. Tottenham did not have significant chances to equalise in the first half.
During the 51st minute, Eric Dier got a golden opportunity to score against his former club. But he missed that chance. In the 68th minute, Adan saved a shot from Doherty, which could have levelled the scoreline of the game.
But in the 80th minute, Bentancur’s header scored the equaliser from the corner. Even though many argued that the goal came from causing fouling on the goalkeeper. Dier again missed another chance against his former club.
Just before the final whistle, Kane scored a goal which was unjustifiedly ruled out by VAR. As a result, Conte saw a red card for showing his protest against the decision.
Reaction Against Tottenham Hotspur’s Performance
Overall, Tottenham Hotspur did not have a good game as they struggled to score goals or create significant chances. Jermaine Jenas as a co-commentator on BT Sport criticised Lucas Moura’s performance on his first start.
He said: “Really poor that from Lucas. It was on a plate for him to whip the ball across but he can’t even beat the first man. He’s going to be slightly rusty, not been out there for a while.”
While talking to BT Sport, Antonio Conte revealed his thought on the cancelled goal and VAR. He spoke: “VAR is doing a lot of damage. I want to see if in another stadium of a big team they are ready to disallow this type of goal. I’d like to know this. A lot of injustice. I don’t like this type of situation.”
He did praise his team’s display in the second half. As he added: “The second half was positive and we played with great intensity. We deserved to win but we know what happened.”
