Son Heung-min is returning for Tottenham Hotspur next week.
Ajax midfielder Lasse Schone has hinted that a physical approach holds the key to Tottenham Hotspur turning around their Champions League tie.
The Dutch side scored a potentially huge away goal in beating Tottenham 1-0 in the first-leg of last night’s Champions League semi-final in North London.
Ajax dominated the first half but Spurs grew a lot stronger once Moussa Sissoko came on for the injured Jan Vertonghen, adding a lot more steel to Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
The increased physicality made it awkward for the visitors, and Schone admits that the rough approach might be his side’s Achilles heel.
He told The Independent: “We played well for the first 30 minutes but the second half was more a game of physical duels and battles and that is not our cup of tea.
“We maybe gave them the ball too much but we didn’t give them too much chances.”
Schone has offered a big hint as to Ajax’s weakness here and if Pochettino doesn’t set his team up with the intention of ruffling feathers in Amsterdam then he’ll have missed a trick – a big one.
The Argentine coach will have Son Heung-min back for the second leg after he was suspended last night, and Schone admits that the ‘incredible’ Spurs man can make a difference next week.
“He is on a roll, he played incredibly in the last couple of games. Of course it is going to be better for them and worse for us but we play at home.”
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