Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Bayer Leverkusen

Poor decision making from so many players in the second half. I reckon only Lloris and Verts come out of that shyte second half with any credit.

Having said that, I would have taken 0-0 before the game.

 

Probably fortunate they put pressing above passing in the 1st half.
But the non-clinical nature of the attack is an increasing concern.

 

I thought that Trippier did pretty well too and Rose defended well at times.
The midfield weren't keeping the ball and lost their composure completely.

 

Well if there ever was a match to illustrate the old "game of two halves" chestnut then that was it. Couldn't see us not scoring after 45 mins, then ended up very happy for the point at the end. Another case of not taking our opportunities when we were on top.

Still, not a terrible result. If we win our next two home games then we're through, and then the away game in Monaco would probably decide the group winners.

 

Poor second half, but we should be happy overall.
We've played 2 of our 3 away games, we've been to Russia and got a win, drawn with the best opponents in the group, and done this with key players missing at various times... AND rotated the squad pretty effectively.

COYS!

 

Jekyll & Hyde performance but a good point away from home.

 

I absolutely agree. We're still well in this group with 2 home games and possibly the easiest away game to go. That's having lost our first game at home.

I saw Leverkeusen win against Dortmund recently and was worried about tonight. A draw will do for me, no matter how we got it. We need a couple of big home performances and definitely we can win this group.

 

No, some of our play in the first half was just as bad.

Simple fact is they were a class above in terms of first touch, ball control, and passing.

 

Considering BL haven't lost at home for yonks, I guess this is a superb result. Not sure what happened in the second half but our defence, principally Loris, excelled. Thought Jansenn's hold-up play was fantastic and was surprised he was substituted.

Just a shame Monaca equalised!

PS - I asked earlier but what has happened to Wimmer? I am surprised that he wasn't even on the sub bench. I thought he was excellent last year when standing in for Verts. Has he fallen out of favour?

 

I'm sorry I just don't agree we were all over them in the first half and only their goal keeper kept them in the game, our passing and touch was brilliant second half, they reversed those roles .

 

I agree, I thought we were a class above in the first half which made the second half baffling

 

It must be the tiredness of travel. However (first class) it takes something from you and at this elite level if you are a fraction off. you will be found wanting.

 

I think we dominated the first half by our superior work rate, not by our skill set.

In the second half they gave us a lesson in how to control and accurately pass a football.

 

I watched a different game.

 

You watched the same second half though surely?

NSIS is right, we have been schooled twice - tonight and by Monaco - in the art of keeping possession and controlling the tempo of the game to take the sting out of the opposition's game plan. Those two have been competing at this level for donkeys years, and it showed.

 

You think Monaco is the easiest away game?

 

Yep. There's a small crowd, no snow in Russia, limited travel, they're not that great. They drew at home to CSKA tonight and very nearly lost. The pitch is the one thing that worries me.

 

Definitely a game of two halves.

First half was interesting because in the first ten minutes or so both sides were pressing really high and shutting one another down but then I felt we upped the tempo and began to test their defence, the offside goal was so close to call and then Janssen's header onto the bar with Lamela's follow up shot which was superbly tipped over looked as though we were minutes from finally breaking the deadlock. The half time whistle done Bayer a massive favour, not just because we were dominating but it also seemingly allowed their manager to give an inspiring team talk. Second half was all about the home side, they pressed us like no other team has before and they really made Hugo, Danny, Jan, Eric, Kieran and Victor work for their money. Hugo's save is a once in a lifetime save, you'd put that alongside the best saves ever made in my opinion, I thought it was in, in fact I think everyone thought it was in barring the 5th official who clearly made an incredible call. The defence really did earn their keep though, especially Tripps, Rose, Jan and Hugo, I thought those four were outstanding throughout the night, Jan being an absolute rock, Hugo producing countless saves on top of the amazing one, Trippier for being defensively sound as well delivering superb crosses and Rose for being typically Rose by giving 100%.

Very decent point in the end, would've taken it before the match and after the final whistle it's definitely one hard earned.

Qualification still currently in our hands, COYS!

 

Leverkusen are a top side in fairness mate. We were the better in the first and should've scored, they were the better in the second and should've scored, they haven't lost at home in a while and last night showed why. I don't think we were schooled in keeping possession, we were just up against a seemingly similar style of opponents who upped their game in the second half after being the lesser of the two teams in the first. Not that I know much about Bayer's first XI and unsure if they were missing anyone but we were without Walker, Toby and Kane, plus Dembele wasn't fit enough to start, that's a lot of key players missing and we still performed admirably against a side who like you say has been competing at this level for donkeys.

As for Monaco, the only thing they schooled us in is how to be clinical - which has been an issue for us for a while - as they had two shots on target and scored from both, we dominated possession, must have had about 10+ chances as well as umpteen corners, they basically stole the win, on another night with different luck we could well have smashed them by a large scoreline just like we did last season. Monaco reminded me of Leicester's smash and grab against us at the Lane.

 

So what happened to them in the first half and why could they only manage a draw on home ground. Football is about momentum and once started it can be difficult to reverse, that's why it often takes the break in play to switch things around. Spurs are at least as capable as Bayer, at least, and if the the halves had been reversed it could have been Spurs in the second half. This happens all the time in football. It;s how lesser teams get results against 'better' sides. In order to have the kind of control you are talking about we need to be have everything in our favour and long journeys to away games is not a plus point. Our results are more to do with age and experience than skill levels.