It may be too late after last week’s chaos, but Tottenham Hotspur tasted that winning feeling again following Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
After the weekend’s draw at Anfield, Igor Tudor’s men regained momentum on the night, taking the lead through Randal Kolo Muani’s header.
A comeback could have been possible had Mathys Tel converted a stunning chance afterwards, although the Frenchman saw his effort denied by Atleti stopper Juan Musso.
That challenge was punished after Julian Alvarez’s break, and some heroics from Xavi Simons could spark a real fightback as David Hancko headed home to make it 2-2.
Simons’ last-gasp kick proved enough to seal victory on the night, at least, and with Tudor’s early start, Tottenham’s young backbone excelled on the big stage.
Spurs stars shine against Atleti
Most of the time the team will look to their experienced heads to pull them out of the rocky terrain, but in N17, it could be the youth who step up and defend Spurs if Wednesday is anything to go by.
Indeed, starting with Simons, the Dutchman – who scored 2-1 – was electric all night, coming close to registering assists for both Tel and Pedro Porro either side of the break.
Speaking of assists, Spurs opened first following the aforementioned Tel’s delightful bend down the right flank, with the Frenchman cleverly picking out his team-mate Kolo Muani from behind.
Archie Gray’s assist on Simons’s stunner also deserves mention, with the 20-year-old leaping in midfield before flicking the ball into the player’s path, becoming the fourth youngest English player to assist a Champions League goal in the knockout stages.
In what was his 7th start in the competition this season, as he moved ahead of Dele Alli as Spurs’ first Champions League start before the age of 21, the midfielder was superb, dominating his box-to-box role.
Overall, Gray added to his assists by successfully completing three out of three dribbles, while registering two key passes, playing with real purpose and confidence that seemed to belie his age.
The young trio led the charge in what was a good night for the Lilywhites, although not all of them shone in the same way.
Tudor now has to bench the Spurs star who stood out from Gray
As Tudor collected his first victory, there wasn’t much in the way of negatives about the Croatian, with the 47-year-old calmly dispelling doubters during a good few days after an earlier clash in Madrid.
If there is going to be any concern about the former Juventus boss, it may be the portrayal of the man alongside Grey, Pape Matar Sarr, who is played by the pair as chalk and cheese.
While the youngster was a joy to watch, Sarr endured a quiet exit in the middle of the park, struggling to put his stamp on proceedings.
|
Spurs vs Atleti player ratings |
|
|---|---|
|
The player |
Average |
|
GK – Vicario |
7/10 |
|
RWB – Porro |
7/10 |
|
RCB – Dragusin |
6/10 |
|
CB – Romero |
6/10 |
|
LCB – Van de Ven |
7/10 |
|
LWB – Spence |
6/10 |
|
CM – Gray |
9/10 |
|
CM – Sarr |
5/10 |
|
RAM – Simons |
9/10 |
|
LAM – Telephone |
8/10 |
|
ST – Kolo Muani |
7/10 |
The 23-year-old was already outstanding and was outclassed by Gray, who may have been disappointed by the 20-year-old’s impressive performance levels.
That may seem like a harsh assessment, although it was Sarr who failed to engage with Hancko in what proved something of a fatal blow to Spurs’ slim hopes of a comeback, with the Mali midfielder beaten in close quarters by an Atleti defender.
Off the ball, Sarr closely matched Gray’s impact, with the pair scoring eight and nine points respectively, although it was on the ball where the difference in quality was evident.
That was reflected in the fact that Sarr failed to register one key, while he failed to successfully complete one dribble, the game has somehow passed, with Tottenham controlling the progress.
The 68-touch talent gives a real unrelenting, unrelenting quality to the Spurs midfielder, yet it was Gray who set the tone for the occasion, with Sarr left far behind him, it must be said.
With former Atleti man Conor Gallagher an option to consider as his replacement at the weekend, Sarr could find himself out of contention with Nottingham Forest, having been one of the few not to bid last night.
ENIC must finally sell Brennan Johnson 2.0 to Spurs this summer
Spurs need to be ruthless with their star players this summer.
