Tottenham Hotspur lost 2-1 to Monaco on Wednesday evening.
Republic of Ireland assistant manager Roy Keane before the match
Pundit Roy Keane told ITV’s UEFA Champions League Highlights show on Wednesday night that he thinks Tottenham lack steel and intensity – but is backing them to get through the group stage of the competition.
Spurs returned to the Champions League for the first time since the 2010/11 season on Wednesday night, as they took on Monaco at Wembley Stadium in front of a record crowd for an English side in the Champions League.
However, Tottenham’s party was spoiled as Monaco took a 2-0 lead in the first half through Bernardo Silva and Thomas Lemar, and whilst Toby Alderweireld did score for Spurs, Mauricio Pochettino’s men couldn’t find an equaliser.
Monaco’s Bernardo Silva celebrates scoring their first goal against Tottenham
With Bayer Leverkusen and CSKA Moscow drawing 2-2, Tottenham sit bottom of their group, and are now having to play catch-up with the rest of the group, putting qualification for the knockout stages in question.
After the game, former Manchester United hero and current pundit Roy Keane spoke to ITV’s UEFA Champions League Highlights show about Spurs, and suggested that their defending was ‘criminal’ for Monaco’s two goals.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino
Keane added that he thinks that whilst Spurs have progressed under Pochettino, they still lack steel and intensity at times, which is preventing them from winning trophies – but predicted that they will still make it to the knockout stages of the competition.
“I think it was a tough night for Tottenham,” said Keane. “That’s one of the problems with Spurs, you just never know what you’re going to get. They were brilliant at the weekend, and whilst Monaco will obviously have been playing with a lot of confidence, the two goals they gave away in the first half an hour is criminal at this level. I know the manager comes across well, but he’ll be fuming with the defensive side of the team.”
“There’s been great improvement from Spurs over the last year and a half to two years, but they’re missing something – a bit of steel, a bit of intensity – and that’s why they’re still short in terms of winning trophies. Having said that, I still think they’re good enough to get out of this group. I still think they have enough in their locker, they still have enough talent at the club and in the team to get out of the group,” he added.
Tottenham’s Jan Vertonghen in action
Former Arsenal defender Lee Dixon also spoke about the game alongside Keane, and blasted Tottenham centre back Jan Vertonghen for his defending in the build-up to Bernardo Silva’s opening goal.
“Vertonghen has got to show Silva down on his weaker right foot. The worst case scenario is that he might get a cross in, but as soon as you let him go inside and you let him come into the box, you can’t challenge him. He just backed off and backed off, he should have shown him down the line, he doesn’t, and it’s a great finish – but it could be avoided,” he added.
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