Tottenham Exacts Sweet Revenge on Fiorentina

Tottenham knock out Fiorentina by getting revenge on the Italian club for eliminating them in last year’s round of 32 in the Europa League.

Last year in the Europa League, Fiorentina downed Tottenham at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in the round of 32 by winning 2-0, 3-1 on aggregate, and advancing all the way to the quarter-finals. This time around though, Spurs would host La Viola at White Hart Lane and exacted revenge by winning 3-0 and 4-1 on aggregate.

It was sweet revenge for a club who could conceivably become a European rival for Tottenham just based on these past two years in the Europa League and both teams getting the better of one another to advance into the next round.

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There were a few notable changes to Mauricio Pochettino’s starting eleven prior to kick-off. They would be Hugo Lloris, Érik Lamela, Ryan Mason and Nacer Chadli.

With Lloris suffering a shoulder injury, initially the thought would be that Michel Vorm would still start at goalkeeper, but instead it was Hugo Lloris. Ryan Mason’s inclusion into the lineup is partially because of Mousa Dembélé’s injury, but also because the 24-year-old played well in his return against Fiorentina in the first leg.

Nacer Chadli playing as the lone striker up top was to give Son Heung-Min some rest. And with Chadli doing well, but mostly the entire team dominating the game for 90 minutes (plus three minutes of stoppage time) and winning 3-0, there was no need to bring on the South Korean international at all.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side not only dominated this game, but did so without the help of Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min. Which shows just how much depth Tottenham currently has in their squad.

Overall there weren’t many negatives in this game. Well, except for one. And that would be seeing Dele Alli pick up a suspension for the round of 16 after receiving a yellow card in the 78th minute. But because it’s a two-legged affair, this shouldn’t be considered a major problem.

And besides, the 19-year-old’s game today is the main talking point as he continues to impress with each game that he plays in. Now along with Alli having a good game, two other players who deserve plenty of praise are Christian Eriksen and Érik Lamela.

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For Eriksen, he has shown a willingness to make the wide midfield his new position for as long as Dele Alli remains as the first choice central attacking midfielder.

Generally, playing out of position shouldn’t work. But Christian Eriksen has defied that logic by looking as dangerous as he usually does when he used to play as Spurs’ No. 10.

As for Lamela, a player who was deemed a flop early in his Tottenham career, he has slowly worked his way into being one of the bright young stars on a team full of talented players. At the age of just 23, no less.

The Argentine winger made great runs going forward, cutting inside when he needed to, to find more space in Spurs’ attacking third and of course contributed a lot in defense by tracking back and high-pressing throughout his time on the pitch.

Érik Lamela can safely say that he has turned the corner and is building a solid career for himself with Tottenham.

Next: Matchday: Tottenham 3-0 Fiorentina

Up next for Tottenham, they take on Swansea City with two fully rested forwards in Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min.

Now while a good amount of regular starters played and went the full 90 minutes, because Tottenham are the fittest team in the Premier League and with Swansea City 16th in the league table, technically this match should be easy enough. Even if there are no easy games to begin with in England’s top-flight division.

In any event, some might say that today’s game was a must-win by advancing into the round of 16 in the Europa League. But playing against the Swans on Sunday is also a must-win to keep pace with current Premier League leaders in Leicester City.