An underwhelming homecoming

The lead up to the game was exciting, the distinctive champions league tune marked our entry back into the league, the competition that is worth getting up for at 4 in the morning Sydney time and persisting through a patchy stream that keeps freezing. 80,000 fans at Wembley shows that we are a big club and this was a chance to prove it against an in form opponent.

Article by James Malcolm

Spurs started well, looking to utilise the pace of Walker and the width of Wembley. They made numerous runs down the right side in the first ten minutes to no avail. Monaco looked good on the ball, they had a quickness and directness to their play. 15 minutes in, Lamela gave the ball away cheaply and the Portuguese Silva showed some a grade teckas hitting it into the back of the net. Monaco, dominated the midfield battle, finding space easily, but not producing too many shots. Until the 30th minute when some poor defending from Vertonghen and Davies, gifted the ball to the substitute Lemar, who blasted it past Loris.

There was a slowness to Tottenham’s play, the attacking three behind the striker lacked space due to the well drilled Monaco who chewed it up like a black hole. With 5 to go in the half we found some rhythm, pinging the ball around instead of going long. Just before the break the classy Alderweireld scored through a corner, rifling it in at the near post after a nice delivery from Lamela. He just keeps getting better, he’s on the cusp of being world class.

Dembele came on for Son at the break, moving into the double pivot role with Dele pushing up field to number 10. The second half was better, Tottenham dominated proceedings winning most duals. Dembele was his usual self, controlling play and looking to move the ball forward quickly. Dele threatened on a number of occasions but lacked the final pass to Kane who continues to look rusty. We had a million corners, Eriksen continues to be suspect on the dead ball not feeding it into meaningful areas. Vinny came on in the 71st minute for Lamela and tested the centre backs immediately, winning long balls and looking to setup Kane. We lacked creativity for the most part, the crispness and speed of passing is absent. Dembele made some barnstorming runs from the half way line feeding the Dane on a few occasions who struggled to thread the last pass into Kane and Vinny. Sissoko came on late and made some strong runs beating a few and crossing to Dele who was in acres of space. He scuffed it. Game over, Monaco make off with the loot, after an impressive tactical performance.

We showed heart in the second half. But ultimately we were outplayed by an in form outfit in Monaco. Spurs haven’t quite hit their groove yet. Rose’s absence was a big loss, the more defensive Davies stifles our play and doesn’t really fit the system that relies on fullbacks with pace and athleticism overlapping. Eriksen and Lamela weren’t great. Dele showed glimpses of quality and Kane was average. If we are to build any momentum in either competition, we need consistent goals from our advanced four. Whilst it was a disappointing result, the silver lining was that Bayer Leverkusen and CSKA drew. Hopefully we can find some fluidity before our next match, a struggling Sunderland should be cannon fodder even for our second team. Spurs have started the season slow, but we have managed to get results in games when we have been sub-par. Inevitably we will click. It’s the when that worries me, guess we need to trust in Poch and his management skills. Regardless, its great to be back in Europe and worth getting up at sparrows fart to watch our boys at Wembley.

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