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Tottenham marched into their final Europa League on Thursday night of the year with two simple goals: to secure the victory that would place them as Group J winners and to do so while preserving key players before a sweltering Christmas to come. In the end, they accomplished both feats quite well, concluding with a 2-0 win over Royal Antwerp with second-half goals from Carlos Vinícius and Giovani Lo Celso.
In their previous 19 matches, Tottenham’s only defeat was against Royal Antwerp in Belgium six weeks ago, which ended up winning 1-0. It reflected perhaps the one thing that hasn’t worked quite well for Spurs this season: the bland performances when José Mourinho has tried to rest his best players and rotate his team in Europa League away games.
Never mind, the coach unsurprisingly rotated once again and in his homeland in front of another small group of 2,000 fans, he expected this occasion to play out slightly differently.
The hosts started with a 3-4-3 formation, the second row in front of the three of Gareth Bale, Vinícius and Lucas Moura started in place of the rested stars. Those on the bench included, of course, Son Heung-min and Harry Kane.
For the recruits, it was one more chance to prove themselves in one of the most competitive teams in Europe at the moment. They started quite well, allowing the Belgian side to keep much of the initial possession and quickly demonstrate the clear threat at the break from the forward trio. The visitors, operating in a curious 5-4-1, were more organized with the ball but powerless in the final third when Tottenham imposed delicate pressure from the start.
Fast guide
Knockout stages of the Champions League and Europa League
Champions League
The round of 16 draw will take place in Nyon at 11am. M. (GMT) of Monday December 14, with the eight ties between the group champions and the runners-up that will take place on February 15-16 and March 16-17.
Group winners: Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Dortmund, Juventus, PSG.
Runners-up: Atlético Madrid, Monchengladbach, Porto, Atalanta, Seville, Lazio, Barcelona, RB Leipzig.
European League
The draw for the last 32 will take place in Nyon at 12pm (GMT) on December 14. The 12 group winners will be seeded along with four third-party teams from the Champions League groups.
Group winners: Rome, Arsenal, Leverkusen, Forest ranger PSV, Naples, Leicester, Milan, Villarreal, Tottenham, Dinamo Zagreb, Hoffenheim.
Runners-up: Young Boys, Molde, Slavia Prague, Benfica, Granada, Real Sociedad, Braga, Lille, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Royal Antwerp, Wolfsberger, Red Star of Belgrade.
CL teams in third place: Seeded: Manchester United, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, Ajax. Not sown: Krasnodar, Red Bull Salzburg, Dynamo Kyiv, Olympiakos.
However, the bright sparks weren’t bright enough. Vinícius was typically energetic, fighting defenders and providing a useful start with good runs, but he was also quite wasteful, narrowly missing two headers on set pieces. Lucas drove well on defense, but failed in front of goal. Bale himself remained on the periphery for much of the first half.
The half finished with the home team in the lead, but they were unable to break through against a smart and cunning Antwerp, anchored by a strong performance from all three of their defenders, with particular credit to Senegalese Abdoulaye Seck.
It was Lo Celso who emerged as the outstanding performer in the final minutes as he tried to take the game by the nape. He broke quickly and brilliantly after a tepid attack from the opposition, following a run with a diagonal pass that narrowly missed Vinícius’ run. Moments later, Lo Celso lunged forward and attempted a left-foot strike off the boot that headed for the right corner, putting goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand to the test. Although it could not be broken.
As the match progressed towards the hour mark, Mourinho had seen enough. However, as Kane hovered expectantly on the touchline, Seck pushed Lucas for a free throw from over 30 yards. It would lead to one of the moments that so many have been waiting for from Bale since his return.
The Welsh attacker produced an impressive free kick that curled, arched and twisted in midair before accelerating towards the upper right corner. The Antwerp goalkeeper was shot with one hand, but Vinícius followed quickly and buried the rebound in the open net.
For both players, that marked their final touches of the day when Mourinho made a triple change, with Kane e Son arriving as Tanguy Ndombele replaced Harry Winks.
And then, well, the game was almost over. The newcomers imbued the home team with added quality and courage, attacking relentlessly and generating countless quality chances. After Kane narrowly missed a header he should have scored, he proved once again that scoring is just part of his arsenal as he stroked a beautifully weighted pass to Lo Celso on his right. The midfielder took advantage of the opportunity with ease and put the ball into the goal with the outside of his left foot. It was a statement performance by the Argentine, who has clearly distinguished himself as one of Totttenham’s top creative players.
“Last season he reached an incredible level, then he had a problem, the injury, and this season the preseason was non-existent for him,” said Mourinho. “ME [said] a couple of times that Gio needed a little more time.
“He’s having that time, he plays the Europa League normally. He played the last game well, he played very well tonight. It’s as if Gio returned to normal because he is a very good player ”.
As Tottenham celebrated a job well done, it was not a satisfying day for everyone involved. Once Mourinho made his final change, Moussa Sissoko, Dele Alli was left on the bench with nothing to do and seemed to respond angrily by strutting down the tunnel and out of sight. Instead, it was a sadder picture. He came back in a thick coat and sat quietly again, just a spectator for this Tottenham team on a frosty London night.
