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Goal against had last season feel for Tottenham v Paços in Conference League

By Aaron Coe

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 28: Harry Winks of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on January 28, 2021 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 28: Harry Winks of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on January 28, 2021 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /
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It is not so much that Tottenham Hotspur lost to Paços, rather it was how they conceded that should be concerning for fans hoping for a better year in 2021/22. 

Last Sunday against Manchester City Tottenham Hotspur defended with passion and vigor. despite some early fouls, the defense kept things under control and the game in front of themselves to ward off the defending Premier League Champions. In avoiding the big mistake the Spurs were able to limit the Sky Blues’ big chances. However, much like last season, Tottenham made big mistakes at a bad time and it cost them against Paços de Ferreira in the Europa Conference League Playoffs.

A bad play made worse by a bad decision

The goal Paços scored against Tottenham was preventable on many fronts and it starts by not giving the ball away. Bryan Gil was dribbling centrally and dropped the ball off to Harry Winks. As the defenders started to close on Winks, he panicked on the ball and hit a terrible pass back in the direction of Bryan.

This pass was easily intercepted and Paços was looking to counter. If at this point WInks had cut his losses and worked to slow the ball up, things probably would have been okay. However, instead of working to shield his defense and keep the ball in front of him, Winks made the rash decision to try and win the ball back with a poor, late challenge.

By the time Winks went sliding in the ball was gone and Nuno Santos was dribbling with his head up looking to split Tottenham’s defense. In this instance, a bad footballing play in losing the ball was made far worse in the unnecessary challenge in the Tottenham attacking half.

Tottenham center-halves are not on the same page

As Santos was breaking toward the Tottenham defense in reality it was a three-on-three counter. However, the lack of cohesion between Cameron Carter-Vickers, Ben Davies, and Cristian Romero really shown through in the play.

CCV and Davies kept backup up with Romero seemingly stepped up to catch Lucas Silva offside. None of it worked and the Brazilian was in on goal and cooling finished past an outstretched and onrushing Pierluigi Gollini.

All too familiar a feeling for Tottenham

For Spurs faithful, this game and that goal just before the half had to have a little feel of last Liverpool and Leicester City from last season. In both matches conceding just before the half was a dagger for the side in losses that kept Tottenham out of the top four. Thus the timing, the nature, and the impact of the goal made it feel all too familiar as a fan.

The good news is that the match was largely played by Tottenham academy products and other players on the fringe of the rotation. With a home match and 90 minutes to overcome the deficit, it is not the end of the world. However, if the Spurs continue to concede in a similar fashion to what they did Thursday in Portugal moving forward this season, it might be a long year for the Lilywhites.

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