Champions League football is less and less likely to be played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next season.
The Spurs fell 3-1 to Sheffield United in Yorkshire on Thursday in a game that frustrated for different reasons. There was controversy in refereeing, but there was an even poorer defense for José Mourinho’s team.
At the end of the day, it wasn’t a good enough effort, which can be said for quite a few Tottenham games over the course of this lackluster season.
It didn’t change much of the Spurs lineup that beat West Ham 2-0 last Tuesday. The only alteration was a spot on the bench for Dele Alli rather than a spot in the lineup, likely due to the team’s upcoming congestion. Steven Bergwijn started in place of English.
Once again, it was a game full of drama and controversy.
Things started normal enough. Sheffield United pressed hard, and the Spurs took a few minutes to get used to the hectic pace of the game.
Most of Tottenham’s chances came from a counterattack. The visiting team had the best moves within the area, but the final pass or cross was simply not there at the beginning.
The Blades took the lead lightly against the run in the 31st minute. Sander Berge got room in the box and dragged a low shot to the far corner.
For a moment, it seemed that the Spurs had responded immediately through Harry Kane, but then the aforementioned controversy arose. The ball had reached Kane after Lucas Moura advanced through the defense. Moura tripped and fell toward the ball, hitting it in Kane’s path.
Kane skillfully ended the opportunity, but VAR stepped in to rule out the goal for a handball. It seemed to be an incredibly hard call. Lucas only made contact with the ball on the ground because he was fouled from behind.
Mourinho was furious. He soon received a warning for his behavior on the touchline, but his behavior was fully justified.
A few minutes later, Oliver Norwood should have seen red by an elbow on the back of Son Heung-Min’s head. VAR looked at the incident and decided that no serious action was necessary.
What use is technology if the people who use it to make calls inconsistently apply rules and logic?
The Spurs continued to fight hard and lead the game to Sheffield United for the remainder of the period, but entered halftime breaking a goal.
Despite feeling that the game should be tied, the Lilywhites had to move on in the second half and not let injustice seep into their heads, but there wasn’t as much intensity as the first half.
Mourinho brought Erik Lamela to Steven Bergwijn in the 56th minute to try and change the game.
Lamela moved forward in a menacing motion a few minutes later, but could not make out Kane, who had slipped to the side in an open position in the box.
Then another die was thrown, with Tanguy Ndombele and Dele replacing Serge Aurier and Moussa Sissoko. It was an encouraging game on the part of Mourinho, but Tottenham was linked again before the subs could even enter the game.
The heinous defense allowed Enda Stevens to bring down the left, and the heinous defense allowed Lys Mousset an easy touch right on Hugo Lloris’s door. Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez were particularly poor at the play.
That essentially ended the game. Ndombele and Dele were inside, but life had disappeared from the attack. Tottenham’s forward movements lacked the motivation and intensity they had earlier in the competition.
The home team even scored a third goal. This time, it was Oli McBurnie who was left unmarked in the box by Spurs defenders. Berge found him with a cutout that he put on the roof of the net.
Tottenham recovered a goal. VAR looked but didn’t cancel out a late touch from Kane, who clearly deserved more than a goal on the day.
This game had represented an opportunity for the Spurs to make some ground at Chelsea and Leicester, but of course that did not happen. With just six games remaining, the Champions League is little more than an impossible dream.
