The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Spurs have mountain to climb in second leg
Werner penalty seals it for Bundesliga visitors against understrength Tottenham
TOTTENHAM 0 RB LEIPZIG 1
Tottenham will again have to do it the hard way in the Champions League after they suffered a 1-0 home defeat in the first leg of their last-16 tie with RB Leipzig last night.
Spurs’ run to the final last season was full of great escapes and comeback wins and they will need another after Timo Werner’s second-half penalty gave the Bundesliga side a deserved win in their first ever knockout game in this competition.
It also sees 32-year-old Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann, who has been dubbed ‘Baby Mourinho’, gain the edge over the man he has been named after.
But Spurs boss Jose Mourinho will claim this was not a fair fight as he was without two of his best attacking players, with the loss Son Heung-min on the eve of the match adding to that of Harry Kane.
The defeat would have been much worse had Hugo Lloris not produced a number of vital saves to keep Leipzig at bay, while Spurs struggled for clear opportunities at the other end.
Giovani Lo Celso had the best of them as his free-kick was turned on to the post, but it was a tough night for Mourinho.
Tanguy Ndombele and Erik Lamela made a difference from the bench for Spurs, but the home side were frustrated by Peter Gulacsi and the RB Leipzig defence.
Lucas Moura squandered a golden opportunity with two minutes left, when he headed over Ben Davies’ cross from close range.
It would prove Tottenham’s final chance of the night, with referee Cuneyt Cakir blowing the full-time whistle after five minutes of stoppage time to leave Spurs with a one-goal deficit ahead of the return leg in Germany.
Spurs will look to last season’s semifinal, where they turned around a similar first-leg defeat to Ajax with a dramatic night in Amsterdam, and there is the sense that something similar will be required in Leipzig on March 10.
Goals from Hans Hateboer (2), Josup Ilicic and Remo Freuler sealed a surprise 4-1 win for Atalanta over Valencia.