performance but.
Spurs got a much needed performance and victory over one of the worst teams in the Champions League, with a four nil win that was helped by a Spurs receiving a red card and saw the goal of the season.
That’s the “but”. Copenhagen are bad, they sit fourth bottom of the CL table, with one point, having played one more game than the three below them. They sat off Spurs for nearly an hour, until the red card.
Frank changed things up with his starting XI. Romero was back, so was Udogie. And Palhinha was benched, Odobert, Simons and Johnson all back in.
For the most of the opening 20 minutes Spurs had the ball but they’d done little with it at the end. The thing is they’d been playing more balls forward, trying the play “through the lines”, had tried stuff they hadn’t before. Some one touch stuff, I even saw a triangle. It was just the final ball was off, or the through ball was just off.
There was still the fannying about at the back and the horseshoe tedious Pepball in front of the visitors. Then Copenhagen came forward for the first time, all their players were in the Spurs half. They then lost the ball with a poor pass that Bentancur picked up, he took one touch then passed it forward to Xavi, who curled the ball round to Johnson who was moving forward. The Dane’s keeper committed himself but it was a tight angle for the Welshman, who put it in the far post. Cross or shot it didn’t matter – he scores, he does very little else. Spurs had done something forward with a purpose and there was an end product.
But while this happens it makes you ask, why didn’t it happen before. Yeah I know, Copenhagen are bad but we’ve known that Bentancur can pass the ball forward, here he did it more in one game that he’s done in all the games previously put together. So why didn’t he do it before. You can forgive a misplaced pass if it was a pass with a purpose. Cowardly stat padding sideways passes, can’t forgive them whatever they do.
They fannyed about after that still had two thirds of the ball but shots on and off target were pretty much level between the teams. Muani should have scored at least one if not two, one after some excellent build up play, one touch stuff again, the other after a glorious cross by Xavi. 51 minutes in we saw something we haven’t seen enough off, especially after that PSG game, real pressing and closing down – it was so damn good in that PSG game, then the West Ham game but missing in so many of the other games.
Amazingly it started with that fanying about at the back, before Porro humped the ball forward, from deep in his own half. It was heading for their keeper but he hesitated slightly and Muani chased it down, put his foot in and blocked the attempted clearance, it went high in the air but he chased it down again and took it down brilliantly, it looked like he might be buggering it up like his previous chances but laid the ball off for Odobert to finish.
A few minutes later and something that bizarrely made things better. Johnson was initially shown a yellow card for a stupid and needless challenge. Yes, I see Frank’s point of view that when the ref goes to the video screen the first thing he shouldn’t see is the still of the contact, he should get it played in real time. And yes his foot bounced but he didn’t need to even try a tackle there.
It worked a treat for Spurs, they could now sit back at home. This is why they’ve got such a good away record, where they’re not expected to be the dominant team and can drop off and play on the break, which suits them far more, when there’s far more space to work in.
So the Danes were on the attack but Palhinha – who came on for Xavi after Johnson’s dismissal, now it was a shame because he had been performing and in this space could have put on more of a show – came in and nicked it away to van de Ven on the edge of the Spurs box. Big Dutch then went off on a charge. A charge up the pitch past the Copenhagen defence and into the Copenhagen box before firing the ball past the keeper for the goal of the season.
Very reminiscent of Son’s Puskas-award-winning goal back in 2019. From box to box on the left side of the pitch. But Micky’s, well he’s a central defender, not one of the world’s best attackers. So it probably is the better. Micky’s finish was also so good, very Harry Kane.
The goal came seven minutes after the red, the fourth came three minutes later, again a break from a Copenhagen attack. A corner headed clear, Odobert is initial shoulder charged off, but chases back when the two Copenhagen players get a bit mixed up. All of a sudden there’s a three man break, three versus one. Romero is the front runner and gets the ball from Odobert, a little more forward and then he squares it for Palhinha to score his fourth of the season.
This is why I say play a back three, with Danso in the middle he can stay at home, while Micky and Romero can go on the charge. Bentancur or Palhinha in front can fill in, mop up when that happens. Udogie and Porro only really have to worry about attacking. Three in midfield mean they won’t be overrun.
Shortly after Richarlison replaced Muani. The pair would have a similar game. A game of missing pretty damn good chances. Richarlison hitting the woodwork twice. First time from another excellent Porro cross. The second when he demanded to take the penalty that Dane Scarlett had won, fighting for the ball and driving into the box and after one of those stupid stuttering run ups smacked it against the woodwork. Fans were not best pleased.
Well, it got their CL campaign back on track, the score should have been better and Copenhagen are one of, if not the worst team in the tournament. But if they played forward like that more often – looking at you Rodrigo – weren’t so weak in the PL – looking at you Xavi – and had a striker who could take chances.