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After Falling to Tottenham Teams Better Not Sleep on Antwerp

By Aaron Coe

(L-R) Antwerp's Portuguese defender Aurelio Buta, Tottenham Hotspur's Argentinian midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, Tottenham Hotspur's English striker Harry Kane and Antwerp's Japanese midfielder Koji Miyoshi react at the final whistle during the UEFA Europa League 1st round Group J football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Antwerp at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on December 10, 2020. (Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth / POOL / AFP) (Photo by KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
(L-R) Antwerp's Portuguese defender Aurelio Buta, Tottenham Hotspur's Argentinian midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, Tottenham Hotspur's English striker Harry Kane and Antwerp's Japanese midfielder Koji Miyoshi react at the final whistle during the UEFA Europa League 1st round Group J football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Antwerp at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on December 10, 2020. (Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth / POOL / AFP) (Photo by KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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José Mourinho brought on all starters with his five substitutes for Tottenham to ensure the victory and Group J win against Royal Antwerp with good reason.

Tottenham Hotspur cannot draw Royal Antwerp in the Round of 32 given they were in the same qualifying group. And while Tottenham are not afraid of anyone, as José Mourinho has made clear on several occasions, Royal Antwerp can advance in this tournament. I am not just writing that because they beat Spurs once and played them well a second time, I am writing it because Antwerp is a good team.

Do Not Sleep on Antwerp

We know there are times when José Mourinho would prefer to not have the ball and wait for the opponent to make a mistake with it and pounce, but that does not happen with Antwerp. Mourinho showed the Belgian side the biggest sign of respect he could in bringing in five starters in the second half to help carry the day.

Prior to the Carlos Vinicius goal at 58 minutes, Tottenham had faced Antwerp for 148 minutes across two matches without scoring a goal. Tottenham were getting and taking shots, but few of them were clear cut chances, although Vinicius was denied once well in the first half. There is a reason they only gave up five goals in six matches – after conceding two to Spurs Thursday night- which is the soundness of Antwerp’s play.

If you play smart with the ball and do not make stupid mistakes you tend not to concede and that is the case with Antwerp. Further, while their offense was a bit tame versus Tottenham, they were missing some players and can score some goals. The team’s top scorer Dieumerci Mbokoni sat out the match as an unused substitute but has six goals on the campaign.

Antwerp has 5 current and 12 former international players on their roster and only five of those 17 are from Belgium. In other words, they have a good team, with real recognized players even if only one name – Jordon Lukaku – really sounded familiar to most.

I concede week-in and week-out Antwerp would struggle in the Premier League, however, in a home-and-home series against a relatively unknown opponent, Antwerp is going to trouble some teams. The best thing the Great Old do is they do not beat themselves.

The bottom line is Royal Antwerp is no minnow, rather they are a big fish in a small pond and may just catch someone unaware in the Round of 32 but it will not be Tottenham.