Tottenham Hotspur defeated Qarabag 3-0 to kick off their Europa League campaign with a win which looks far better on the scoreline than it did on the pitch.
Radu Drăgusin’s early red card put the cat among the North London pigeons, and Qarabag’s performance was one which should’ve yielded so much more. But it was Spurs who took the victory, with three goals and a third consecutive win.
As it happened
On paper, it should’ve been so simple. Qarabag, on the back of their tenth consecutive Azerbaijan Premier League title, have only qualified for the round of 16 in European competition once – last season. They’re only in the Europa League after humiliation in their attempt to qualify for the Champions League, falling to a 5-0 battering at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb. Ange Postecoglu’s side wouldn’t even have to make the gruelling 2,380-mile trip to Azerbaijan for the game. This was the perfect opportunity to start their European campaign with a statement.
But it wasn’t on paper, and it wasn’t simple. Nothing about this game went as it should have. The 8pm kick off didn’t happen; Qarabag didn’t arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium until 7.45 after train chaos in London. Tottenham’s assertion of dominance didn’t happen as they’d planned. Their statement was made, but it was more of a whisper than a shout.
Things went wrong straight away. Spurs didn’t even get the luxury of ten players; in the seventh minute, Juninho picked Radu Drăgusin’s pocket on the halfway line and the Romanian defender panicked, tugged the striker’s shirt, brought him down and as soon as the whistle blew, the colour of the card felt an inevitability. And so it was; Willy Delajod reached for his back pocket to produce the red card everyone was expecting, exposing Postecoglu and Spurs to a mountain they didn’t expect to have to climb.
Emotions were varied. Spurs were worried, frantic, unconvincing. The mood soured even further on 12 minutes after Lucas Bergvall was denied his opportunity to shine, being pulled off for Destiny Udogie to make up for the depleted backline. Not long after, though, Spurs were much happier.
Only seconds after the disappointment of Bergvall’s withdrawal, Qarabag shot themselves in the foot. In much the same way as Drăgusin before him, Júlio Romão had the ball nicked off him by Dominic Solanke, but this time it was on the edge of the area. The new man up top held up the ball well, waited for the perfect moment and spotted Brennan Johnson running in behind. One ball later the Welshman was in on goal, and one touch later the ball was rolled into the back of the net. After suffering relentless abuse after his performance in the North London derby, he’s scored three goals in three games, and this one put Spurs in front.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Lilywhites looked more assured immediately. In the opening 15 minutes, they kept 75% of the ball. Then things changed.
Ange Postecoglu is not a manager to change tact. He believes in his football. He knows exactly how he wants his team to play. This time, though, it meant playing a very high line with only ten players on the pitch.
So, Qarabag pounced. Spurs let ball after ball fly behind their back four. Toral Bayramov was first to be played through on goal, but Udogie’s recovery run pressured him into a scuffed shot. Then it was Juninho, who would’ve had a certain one on one if he’d held his run, the chance eventually squandered by the linesman’s flag. Archie Gray in particular was responsible for losing his man more than once. Every time they lost the ball, one long pass was all it took for Qarabag to create a chance. The only problem? Their play in the final third was sharp as a wooden spoon.
They did create one more big chance right at the end of the half. Gray again responsible for losing his man, this time Elvin Cafarquliyev, who darted into the box, played the ball across the face of goal and could only watch on as Juninho sliced the ball agonisingly wide of the far post.
Spurs were clinging on by the break. It was a gap they needed to calm down and reassess the situation. And it worked.
Only seven minutes into the second half, they got themselves a corner. Standing over it was substitute Dejan Kulusevski, who whipped a wicked ball towards keeper Mateusz Kochalski. He got a strong enough punch to the ball, but could only direct it into the area, where Pape Matar Sarr was waiting to blast the ball past Patrick on the line and into the back of the net. Spurs, despite their struggles, were two to the good. 10 men or otherwise, attack might be the best form of defence after all.
Embed from Getty ImagesQarabag did not give up in their efforts though. Spurs, having already had a man sent off, then completed the brace of bad fouls by giving away a penalty. This time it was Yves Bissouma, lazily lunging in on Cafaquliyev after he raced past Gray once more. It was man before ball, and after VAR checked, the penalty stood.
This was Qarabag’s big moment. Their football had deserved a goal, and they weren’t going to get a better chance than this. Bayramov stood over the ball, 12 yards and Guglielmo Vicario between him and a vital goal for his team.
And then he missed. He hit it high, he hit it hard, he hit it straight onto the bar. Spurs had dodged yet another bullet, their two-goal lead just about intact.
Sometimes football is as simple as its cliches. If you miss chance after chance against a team as good as Tottenham Hotspur, logic dictates you’ll probably regret it in the form of goals flying into the net you weren’t aiming for.
So Spurs went and scored again on 68 minutes: Heung-Min Son with a typical curler from outside the area, but this time it was too central. Not to worry, though. Kochalski fluffed his lines, parrying the ball into the perilous six yard box, where Dominic Solanke was lurking, waiting for his opportunity to pounce. One simple finish later, the game was well and truly won, the former Bournemouth man a European goal-scorer for the first time in his career.
Embed from Getty ImagesIf the visitors’ night hadn’t been heartbreaking enough, there was one more cruel twist to the tale. Yassine Benzie found space just outside the area and whipped a gorgeous ball into the area towards a completely unmarked Juninho. This time, after 12 shots, he finally watched as the ball nestled into the back of the net past a statuesque Vicario. They were on the scoresheet; the away fans went ballistic.
But the linesman had other ideas. Not five seconds after the ball crossed the line, the flag was up and the goal was disallowed. The Brazilian was offside by a millimetre, and Qarabag would have to accept a goalless day against the ten men of Spurs who rode their luck from start to finish.
These are infantile stages in the Europa League, and with seven games left between now and January, a win for Spurs is a great start after a quite concerning performance. In many ways, it’s the visitors who will come out of the game with more to be pleased with going forwards; if they can find their shooting boots, there’s no reason they can’t make the knockout stages for the second year in a row.
For now, though, it’s Spurs celebrating. Three goals, a clean sheet and all of that with ten men. However, one would assume Ange Postecoglu may not be the happiest man in North London, especially with Manchester United on the horizon. But lads, it’s Spurs: a win is a win.
The lineups
TOT: Vicario; Davies, Van de Ven, Drăgusin. Gray; Bergvall, Bissouma, Sarr; Son, Solanke, Johnson
QRB: Kochalski; Cafarquliyev, Hüseynov, Mustafazada, Silva; Patrick, Romão, Benzia; Zoubir, Juninho, Bayramov
