Tottenham concedes a dreadful goal. The last man Alderweireld dawdled in possession and was robbed by the tireless Lozano, who charged through on goal. Alderweireld did so well to chase back and make a brilliant sliding tackle as Lozano was about to shoot, only for the ball to ricochet off Lozano and loop slowly over Lloris.
But they equalised in the 39th minute. Now Spurs are drawing pretty! This is a good team goal. After a patient move, Eriksen plays a nice pass inside Malen to find Trippier, who gets his head up and cuts the ball back carefully to find Moura 12 yards from goal. He hits a first-time shot that deflects off Rosario and over Zoet.
This is turning into a cracking game. Lozano scurries infield from the right and finds Pereiro, who dances past Alderweireld and toe bungs a left-footed shot that hits Sanchez and bounces off the top of the bar.
Half-time chit chat
“I remember how excited I was about Van Bommel’s move to Barcelona, based purely on reputation in those dark pre-streaming days,” says Phil Podolsky. “Finally a proper midfield shield and all that. Except he wasn’t the much-needed holding midfielder but a central one who was nowhere near creative or quick-thinking enough to deputise alongside Deco after Xavi’s seasn-ending injury. They ended up winning the Champions League that season but with Iniesta coming through the ranks everyone was relieved when he did one in the summer.”
I remember him scoring from a different postcode against England at White Hart Lane (I think) in 2001. The Netherlands looked like the best team in Europe that night. Two weeks later, while England was winning 5-1 in Germany, they failed to qualify for the World Cup after losing 1-0 to 10-man Ireland. Funny old etc.
“I’ve spent more time than I’d care to admit trying to make a ‘Hendrix pulling the (guitar) strings in midfield’ joke work, but it just won’t come together,” says Matt Dony. “Maybe I’m not as funny as I thought?”
It’s the thought that counts. Spurs should be winning but are happy enough to be level having gone behind. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
Source: The Guardian
