Tottenham Won't Underestimate Gent Again

It’s a tale that is becoming familiar: Tottenham advanced into the Europa League knockout round only to find that their opposition is a tad more stubborn than expected.

In three of the past four seasons, Tottenham suffered an unexpected setback in the first leg of the Round of 32.

For the past two seasons, the team delivering that setback has been Fiorentina. Prior to that it was Dnipro, who actually beat Spurs 1-0 in Ukraine.

Harry Redknapp did enjoy some success in his second season in the competition, beating Lyon 2-1 at home before sealing the tie away in the next round. In Redknapp’s first season, though, Tottenham didn’t even make it out of the group stages.

With Champions League football the constant priority, Tottenham might be forgiven for downshifting in their midweek Europa League matches. Even under Mauricio Pochettino, who has generally preferred to field strong teams for the tournament, results remain middling.

More from Europa League

Gent are the latest side to exploit Spurs’ complacency. Their 1-0 win in Belgium last week was only the first leg, but it was woeful enough to not exactly inspire confidence that Spurs could get the result they needed in the second.

If we’re honest, the overall context here doesn’t look any better for Spurs’ Europa League hopes. They remain in the hunt for a Champions League place even if title hopes are fading. Pochettino would certainly be justified in hoping that a B-squad can get a result on Thursday ahead of the Premier League match against Stoke City.

That won’t be what happens though. Pochettino made clear his intent with the side he named against Fulham on Sunday. Tottenham will take every competition seriously, which means making sacrifices. In this case it will likely mean giving five starts to a core group of player in the span of only two weeks, but such are Pochettino’s expectations.

More than the starting XI, it was the match itself which speaks most to Spurs’ chances on Thursday. Despite the FA Cup easily ranking third on the list of priorities, Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and a newly healthy Jan Vertonghen clearly didn’t play down to expectations. The whole side turned in fine performances, and a commanding 3-0 win was the result.

Even if it added miles to legs that needed rest, that was what was required after an especially demoralizing week. Gent can expect the same fervor to be brought to Wembley on Thursday.

Tottenham followed a broadly similar arc last season around this time. A disappointing 1-1 draw in Florence preceded an unexpected loss to eventual finalists Crystal Palace in the FA Cup on the weekend. Then, when Fiorentina traveled to White Hart Lane for the second leg, Tottenham dominated in a 3-0 win. Goals from Ryan Mason and Érik Lamela sealed their progression to the next round.

Next: AC Milan Interested in Tottenham's Moussa Sissoko

Gent are not Fiorentina, who at least compete near the top of one of Europe’s top leagues. The Belgians were fortunate to come away in the first leg with a win that owed as much to Spurs’ evident disinterest as to their own skills. Now, they face a steeled Tottenham team anxious to draw themselves further out of the mire of last week. They should be frightened.

Home/Europa League

Tottenham Won’t Underestimate Gent Again

By Ryan Wrenn | Feb 22, 2017

It’s a tale that is becoming familiar: Tottenham advanced into the Europa League knockout round only to find that their opposition is a tad more stubborn than expected.