Paul Merson brands Tottenham naive.
Paul Merson
Paul Merson has told SkySports that Tottenham were taught a major lesson in the Champions League this week as they were beaten 2-1 by AS Monaco.
The pundit also added that he feels Spurs would have been better off at White Hart Lane, suggesting that some fans were effectively day trippers, which created a flatter atmosphere than the team were used to.
Tottenham fans outside the stadium before the game
He said: “Tottenham got a major Champions League lesson. They dominated large parts of the game against Monaco, but were naive and got caught out.
“If the match was at White Hart Lane, I think the result would have been different. You would have had 40,000 die-hard Spurs fans, rather than 85,000, some of whom just turned up for the day and perhaps don’t watch Tottenham too often.”
Tottenham had a record attendance at Wembley for the fixture, and fell flat as they were caught on the counter attack by a measured Monaco side.
Tottenham’s Eric Dier in action with Monaco’s Radamel Falcao
Spurs beat Monaco comfortably at White Hart Lane last season, and the occasion may have got to Spurs a little, but the real issue was poor defending, with Jan Vertonghen and Ben Davies both left feeling they could have done better for the Ligue 1 side’s opener.
If they record a win against Bayer Leverkusen in their next Champions League home game then questions over the choice to play at Wembley will quickly disappear.
Monaco’s Danijel Subasic saves from Tottenham’s Harry Kane
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