TOO MUCH TO LASK OF ’EM!
Big-name Spurs stars fail to show up against average rivals and were lucky to get the point needed to progress
HE put his egos in his crosshairs and Jose Mourinho was absolutely right to do so.
Some of his Tottenham stars, he insisted, believed themselves to be too big to be playing against average teams in the Europa League group stages.
They performed that way, too, outplayed in the first half by a LASK side second in the Austrian league.
This was Spursy Spurs. A throwback to the old days that saw them throw away games they were nailed on to win. On paper – even with a string of fringe players in the side – they were good enough to wipe out their hosts. On the pitch, Tottenham were lucky to escape with a point.
Manchester United fans will bristle at Mourinho’s comparisons with the egos at Old Trafford, but the struggles of that expensively-assembled squad under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer perhaps underlines the Spurs boss’ point.
Mourinho will hammer that out of his current side as he seeks to change the attitude that for so long has been at the root of their inconsistency.
Only midfielder Pierre- Emile Hojbjerg and forward Heung-Min Son were spared criticism and rightly so.
If Spurs go on to win this trophy, nobody will remember nights like this. But the players who were passengers here will not be forgotten when the transfer windows open.
Peter Michorl lashed LASK into the lead from outside the box in the 42nd minute. Spurs keeper Joe Hart could have done better, despite the ball bouncing just in front of him.
Gareth Bale equalised from the penalty spot with the last kick of the first half, before Son fired Spurs ahead 11 minutes after the restart, racing clear to smash into the bottom corner of the net.
But after Bale squandered a sitter by squaring to Son with the goal at his mercy six minutes later, Johannes Eggestein levelled with six minutes to go. Again, Hart was at fault, failing to get a strong enough arm to a shot from outside the box.
Within two minutes, Spurs were back in front. Sub Steven Bergwijn was brought down by Philipp Wiesinger. Dele Alli, also fresh off the bench, chipped the penalty home.
But it was left to another substitute, Mamoudou Karamoko, to bring the house down with a curling effort in the last minute.
LASK deserved a point. Tottenham did not.