Europa League: Tottenham Hotspur claimed a 3-0 victory over Qarabag FK, with goals scored by Johnson (12), Sarr (52), and Solanke (68).
Manager Ange Postecoglou has previously expressed the team’s disappointment over missing out on European competition the previous season, describing it as a major gap in Tottenham’s schedule. He had asked, what’s in an extra wait of 35 minutes?
An overall transportation meltdown around White Hart Lane with suspended overground trains and blocked roads resulted in a delayed start to the game. This set the mood for an unpredictable match against Qarabag, marking Spurs’ debut in the Europa League, which included a dismissal for central defender Radu Dragusin at seven minutes in and myriad near-misses at their goal. The reason for their managed clean sheet? Much credit goes to Guglielmo Vicario.
Despite the chaos, Spurs had a efficient attacking strategy, which was verified when Dominic Solanke stretched the lead to 3-0 in the 68-minute mark, putting Tottenham on an easy path to triumph. This didn’t quite reflect the game’s hectic narrative up to that point. Brennan Johnson successfully scored the opening goal and Pape Sarr followed shortly after, getting the club’s supporters excited in this enjoyable match. Although the journey to the final match in Bilbao will be lengthy, Tottenham Hotspur have made a confident start.
The Qarabag team bus was also held up by the gridlocked traffic, battling through the congestion from their Stratford-based hotel – a supposed short journey of 12 miles. The Azerbaijan champions eventually reached the stadium at 7.35pm, far from their desired arrival. The situation was not advantageous for either team.
The match started with severe mistakes on both sides, beginning with Dragusin’s dismissal after he unexpectedly let the ball slip away from him, with pressure being applied by Juninho. Dragusin found himself in a tight spot after being outplayed by the Qarabag forward who was ready to sprint towards the goal. The moment Dragusin tugged at Juninho’s shorts, referee Willy Delajod made the dismissal.
Regardless of the setback, Spurs remained unfazed. Postecoglou put Destiny Udogie in charge of the left-back position to reconstruct the back four, a move not typically characteristic of his style.
Archie Gray continued his advance from right-back, paralleled by Udogie’s same roles. Ben Davies made a daring upfield dash with the ball from his unfamiliar role as left centre-half, while the three attackers remained elevated. Lucas Bergvall’s exit as midfielder was unfortunate.
It spoke volumes about Tottenham Hotspur’s resilience that the team sustained their gameplay with only ten players following Dragusin’s ejection and as Udogie prepared to step in. They neglected to pause the game and even risked losing the ball at a point, a risky strategy that they repeatedly implemented before the halftime break.
Their breakthrough moment followed the substitution of Bergvall for Udogie, and marked a personal catastrophe for Júlio Romão, Qarabag’s defensive midfielder. Tottenham Hotspur mounted a forceful press, into which Ramão blundered right into Solanke. Solanke proceeded to pass to Johnson on the pitch’s outer edge, who scored with a low and accurate first-time shot.
Johnson could’ve had another goal to his name after receiving a long pass from Gray and dodging Mateusz Kochalski, Qarabag’s goalkeeper, who unwisely left his goalpost. Johnson missed the open goal.
Yet, the remainder of the opening half was dictated by Tottenham Hotspur’s defensive gambles, leaving them vulnerable against Qarabag’s counterattacks, but confidently making it back.
Toral Bayramov’s shot under Udogie’s pressure following a swift run was off and everyone was taken aback when Juninho missed a shot from an Elvin Cafarguliyev cross while unguarded in front of the goal. Another nerve-wracking moment was when Juninho dispossessed Davies, forcing Spurs’ Vicario to sprint off his line and perform a crucial one-on-one tackle.
The second half saw Postecoglou bring on Dejan Kulusevski to replace Johnson. The Swedish wing player’s corner kick precipitated the second goal. Kochalski scrambled after the ball under minimal pressure, more so from his own team, and Sarr volleyed it precisely, too perfectly for Andrade to block on the line.
Spurs presented a complicated situation, one could almost question if they had any intentions of executing a proper defence. Yves Bissouma ended up giving away a penalty due to his awkward tackle on Cafarguliyev. In a moment of missed opportunity, Bayramov shot wildly off target and Qarabag found themselves with multiple subsequent opportunities, mostly resulting from enforced turnovers. Despite this, their capability to finish off these chances proved starkly inadequate.
Even when Spurs had a 2-0 lead, they felt uneasy. Only when Solanke scored were they able to let out a sigh of relief. Previously having his attempts denied by Kochalski around the 58-minute mark, Solanke was able to capitalise on a rebound from a Son Heung-min shot initially parried by Kochalski, providing an easy set up for the forward to tap in.
With Vicario deflecting a thunderous upper-corner shot by Cafarguliyev, and Juninho ultimately managing to get the ball past the line only for it to be ruled offside, Qarabag’s efforts proved fruitless. Regardless of how long the match carried on, it seemed scoring was not on the cards for Qarabag. – Guardian