Spurs delight in Maccabi’s generosity on ‘strange’ night

This was a very strange night, but a very good one for the Spurs. It was really lucky that Harry Kane scored a hat-trick, because everything else that happened seemed really very strange as Maccabi Haifa were dispatched 7-2 in a game in which both sides showed their attacking verve while looking largely unhappy about what might happen at the other end.

“Strange” was also the word José Mourinho used to describe a scandalously open Europa League tiebreaker. Being José José, he seemed almost more upset by the disrespectfully arrogant attitude of his opponents towards the very concept of defending than by the efficiency of his own players to take advantage of.

So a vitally important football match had a slightly surreal air, especially when the referee took it upon himself to award what, even by today’s standards, were an absolutely ridiculous pair of handball penalties. To his credit, he managed to mitigate the impact of this whim by sharing his absolutely ridiculous handball penalties.

In the long run, the two goals the Spurs managed to concede to such a palpably inferior opposition may prove more significant than the seven they scored. If the second could be dismissed as the last in a growing list of nonsense, the first was the result of a more pitiful defense. Davinson Sanchez gave the ball away unnecessarily. Four other Spurs players failed to close out 2015/16 QPR player of the year Tjaronn Chery before he sent a fierce shot that plunged into the top corner of Joe Hart’s net.

And it’s not that Maccabi didn’t have other opportunities. Even at 5-2 against, they continued to stretch and pester a Spurs defense that remains desperately on the run and resolutely different from Mourinho. They are still without a clean sheet this season despite playing a couple of terrible sides in this competition, and Newcastle.

But let’s get back to where we started. It may have been weird, but this was a very good night in a very good if busy week. Progression to the group stage of the Europa League was the most basic requirement for this first leg of Spurs’ eventful season, and reversing the score they suffered against Bayern Munich a year ago to date: 28.57 % of all European matches at this stadium have done so. finished 7-2 – it was a tremendous result capped by a favorable Carabao Cup quarter-final draw: Spurs travel to Stoke while the other big contenders (Arsenal, Manchester City, Everton and Manchester United) face each other..

Tottenham took the lead in two minutes, Ben Davies took over a very Sergio Reguilon position after swapping passes with Steven Bergwijn to give Harry Kane the first of his three goals. Bergwijn’s corner was thrown by Lucas Moura to put Spurs in front moments after the impact of the tie. And then Giovani Lo Celso scored twice in a row, the second of the ‘selfish’ Kane’s last assist, to confirm the win and earn himself a half substitution which we must therefore assume, brings with him a starting spot Sunday at Old Trafford.

Therefore, Dele Alli had the second half to amuse himself against docile opposition, and he did it a lot. After the silly penalty shootout, Dele was twice embroiled in a long counterattack that ended with Bergwijn superbly setting up Kane to take down the keeper and complete his hat-trick. Kane was also quickly replaced by Old Trafford, now clearly at the forefront of Mourinho’s thoughts.

There was still time for Dele himself to get on the score sheet in injury time, converting a penalty that he himself had won with sublime skill, a double dose of #narrative given his own situation and the historical resonance of the scoreboard. If all Spurs opponents were as welcoming as Maccabi, there would be no doubt about the future of Dele.

The problem, as it stands, is that Maccabi were such helpful visitors that it’s hard to read too much or anything in this game alone. But perhaps the point is that it is not necessary. The Spurs started this week vomiting over the injustice of a very silly penalty; They end it by significantly improving their chances in two of the three competitions that have a chance of winning this season. While defensive failures remain, there are signs that a team is just beginning to come together and could finally take that step that Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs teams, wonderful as they often were, never could.

Dave tickner