Tottenham 0-0 (0-1 agg) AC Milan (Romero red card 77′)
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM — It was a fitting conclusion to Tottenham Hotspur’s dismal Champions League exit that when they finally did something interesting of note 150 minutes into the tie, it was an action so unfathomably dim that it made their progress far less likely. Cristian Romero was the useful idiot but this is a classroom full of dunces. The teacher might not be in charge for long. The Antonio Conte loyalists cannot defend this.
There’s something that we need to discuss, in the vain hope that it might make any of us feel better: there are long periods of Tottenham Hotspur matches where absolutely nothing happens. I mean nothing. The ball stays in the middle third of the pitch, occasionally switching from one team to the other when someone does something badly (often). Every now and then, there will be mild cause for groans or applause, but only to make us feel something. At this point, we are watching a football match only on a technicality.
The first half against AC Milan on Wednesday night was an inglorious example of the breed. At one point, Each team headed the ball three times to each other without any intention of bringing the ball under control. These were two teams trying to prove they belonged among the best eight in Europe. We demand a recount.
Given how often this seems to happen to Spurs, we have to assume it is by design: the interminable backward passes, the lack of ideas, the lethargy on the ball that invites pressure they regularly struggle to cope with. If you thought that slow play would at least make the actions exact when they came, think on.
Concluding that this is deliberate doesn’t make anyone feel any better; quite the opposite. Football is supposed to be entertainment and it would be nice if at least someone looked like they were having fun. But it is at least a conclusion. Antonio Conte has looked at this team and thought “Yes, this is the right way to play”. That alone is enough to bring on the symptoms of a migraine.
The positive spin is that Tottenham are frequently able to drag their opponents down to the same level, clogging in their throats like a thick smog. The negative spin is… everything else. There is no momentum because creating a chance doesn’t seem to strike anyone as a particularly pleasant experience. The speed of play means that four or five actions need to go perfectly for that to happen anyway.
The exception – then, now, forever – is Harry Kane, who at times resembles an overnight security guard at Madame Tussauds, wandering between the collection of waxworks. Kane is eternally game: dropping deep, flicking passes around the corner, imploring teammates to offer some or any help. He is more than just one player to this club, but no team can work with the work of one. Tottenham, chasing a tie in the Champions League, had no shots on target in the first half.
More on Tottenham Hotspur FC
They are not always like this, of course, and the tempo cranked up as their own ignominy loomed into sight – even an animal in hibernation knows when it must wake. But it is deeply worrying that it took the introduction of Pedro Porro, and his direct running from right wing-back, to stir the beast. Like last season with Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, it is the most recent arrivals who change the mood. Based on this season’s evidence, they quickly get dragged down.
And when Tottenham finally do commit players forward, it immediately opens the door at the back. In the first 25 minutes of the second half, it was Milan who had the better chances. Olivier Giroud forced a stop from Fraser Forster after Brahim Diaz had squandered a better opportunity with the ball caught under his feet. On the counter, Rafael Leao demonstrated all the composure of a wildfire when blazing over. Each time, three sides of the stadium groaned and wondered how many lives they had left. The last one left with Romero’s idiocy. Ill-discipline is another trait of a team fighting against its own incompetence.
Ordinarily we might call this the end of the affair between Conte and Tottenham, but that hints at some excitement and titillation. Instead this has been a marriage of inconvenience that promised a logical match but will end in messy, unpleasant divorce either now or soon. Conte came as a winner but hasn’t won much. Conte came as a defensive expert and has overseen a team that looks fragile as soon as it attacks (which is rare). This was the fitting end, a goalless draw against a team built with fewer resources that didn’t even have to play at its best.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/bWweEiu
Post a Comment