Tottenham face a tough task in the Champions League but things are happening for them and Ajax may have missed their big opportunity
- Spurs had so many Champions League resuscitations it is like watching Casualty
- Ajax may regret not capitalising on Tottenham’s awful display in the first leg
- The return of Son Heung-min for the second leg will be very important
If you are a Tottenham fan, you would console yourself last Tuesday with the fact that weird things are happening in this Champions League run.
It’s a little like when an ageing Chelsea won in 2012.
When Luuk de Jong equalised in the 87th minute for PSV Eindhoven, to make that game 2-2, Tottenham had one point after three games.
Things have happened for Tottenham during their Champions League run this season
In the next game at Wembley they were 1-0 down up until 78 minutes and going out before Harry Kane’s goals gave them a lifeline. Likewise Eriksen’s late goal against Inter and Lucas Moura’s against Barcelona brought them back from the abyss.
Then in the quarter-finals they were to all intents and purposes out when Raheem Sterling made it 5-3 before VAR brought them back. There have been so many resuscitations it has been like watching Casualty.
Yet you can’t help feeling Ajax missed their opportunity. I know that seems odd to say after a 1-0 win in the semi-final but Spurs were there for the taking. They were so poor in the first half Ajax could have gone for it and finished the tie.
They had their chance to pretty much finish it when David Neres hit the post but I felt they almost invited Tottenham back. And Tottenham surely cannot be as bad again? That would be the worry for Ajax.
Mauricio Pochettino knows he got it wrong starting with a back three. It will be a different Spurs who face them at the Johan Cruyff Arena on Wednesday.
The return of Son Heung-min could prove very important for Tottenham against Ajax
Most importantly there will be Son Heung-min back. To be honest, Tottenham never looked like scoring with Fernando Llorente and Moura up front on Tuesday.
I actually though that Llorente played well, in that he held the ball up nicely and linked played. But you don’t get lots of movement from him and Moura didn’t offer enough variety.
Given that you could see there was space on the right and that Kieran Trippier was struggling there, he needed to make runs into that area to stretch Ajax.
Son will make all the difference. He is the perfect striker to lead the press on the opposition. He has so much energy. He has that all-important pace. In certain games you can find new levels. This is that game for Tottenham.