Tottenham Hotspur will take a one-goal deficit to North London next week as AZ Alkmaar earned a well-deserved 1-0 win in the Netherlands on Thursday thanks to an early own goal by Lucas Bergvall.
Well, a 1-0 scoreline? Sounds familiar for Spurs. It happened against Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, and most recently Manchester City. But of all of them, this was, without a doubt, the most uninspiring display yet by the North London side.
Spurs had eight days off before this fixture, while Alkmaar played just four days prior. Yet somehow Spurs looked the more fatigued side.
There was a lot of optimism when the starting lineup was announced. Dominic Solanke, Micky van de Ven, and Cristian Romero returned to the bench. Meanwhile, Mathys Tel, Kevin Danso, and Djed Spence were handed their European debuts. Spurs had all the reasons to be the stronger side, but things didn’t go their way from the first whistle. Let’s have a look at the match report.
First half: AZ Alkmaar 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
From the first minute, AZ Alkmaar were the ones pressing high and man-marking Spurs’ players. They had their first chance early on as Spurs allowed them to enter the flanks far too easily.
In the 18th minute, AZ took the lead (clumsily). Troy Parrott scuffed the ball back across the six-yard box from a corner, and in his attempt to clear, Lucas Bergvall unintentionally looped it over Guglielmo Vicario into his own net. 1-0 to AZ Alkmaar.
The former Spurs man, Parrott, used his extra bit of determination and continued troubling the Spurs’ defence. He came incredibly close to doubling AZ’s lead later in a one-on-one situation after Gray and Danso failed an offside trap. However, Vicario did well to deny him.
Spurs had an opportunity to equalise when they were awarded a free-kick just outside the box. But Son Heung-min and James Maddison made a mess of it due to a miscommunication.
Ten minutes before half-time, Spurs almost conceded again, making a scramble out of an AZ freekick. After multiple failed clearances, Bergvall finally got a hold of the ball and cleared the danger.
Brennan Johnson and Spence tried setting up Maddison in quick succession before the whistle, but the AZ defence held firm.
For the first time in nine Europa League games this season, Spurs failed to register a single shot on target in the first half. The hosts had much less of the ball but posed more threat; an xG of 1.68 compared to Spurs’ 0.1. AZ led 1-0 at the break, deservedly so.
Second half: AZ Alkmaar 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Despite the narrow scoreline at half-time, there was absolutely no fight from Spurs. Ange Postecoglou brought in Wilson Odobert for Mathys Tel at half-time, a puzzling decision as the former Bayern man was the only Spurs player to have not misplaced a single pass.
Bergvall tried making amends for his own goal five minutes into the half, but his curling shot went inches wide.
Son had a go three minutes later, only to fire wildly over the bar. Shortly after, Vicario went full stretch to produce an outstanding save, denying Poku’s low drive towards the bottom corner.
AZ were disciplined defensively and whenever they sensed danger, they simply fouled Spurs’ players to stop play. Speaking about fouls, Rodrigo Bentancur picked up a yellow card for a late challenge on Parrott, ruling him out of the second leg.
Dominic Solanke returned for his first appearance since the North London derby in January, but a stoppage-time collision with AZ’s keeper forced him off just 28 minutes later.
Spurs only showed some grit in stoppage time, but as we’ve seen before, it was too late. AZ were worthy winners on the night, finishing with an xG of 1.57 to Tottenham’s 0.44. The home side created 4 big chances but thankfully for Spurs, missed all of them. Meanwhile, Spurs were able to create only one big chance which in itself wasn’t a very convincing one.
Takeaways from Tottenham’s 1-0 loss to AZ Alkmaar
Put this on Ange Postecoglou or his players, but that was one of the best and most disciplined defensive structures I’ve seen. AZ communicated well, transitioned in cohesion, and executed a simple game plan; score early and sit back. And they didn’t completely shut shop; they were eager to add a second throughout the game. It was a tactical masterclass from Maarten Martens, who made Ange look clueless. Spurs managed just one shot on target, and that came 2 minutes before stoppage time.
From the first whistle to the last, AZ were the better side in all areas of the pitch. Spurs couldn’t create chances, their players were marked parallelly, and whenever they tried to progress, they were either fouled or outnumbered; particularly Djed Spence, who was arguably Spurs’ most creative player. According to Fotmob, He completed the most dribbles (3) and won the most duels (a whopping 15). He could have done more with better support or if he wasn’t constantly fouled (5 times; the most in the game).
There are now more potential absentees for the second leg. Solanke’s injury looked concerning although Ange said it was just a knock. Bentancur is suspended, which means an entry for Yves Bissouma who looks anything but confident at the moment. On the brighter side, we could see the Romero-Van de Ven pairing back in action.
Son-Heung-Min had a very quiet outing (or just an outing). No shots on target, no chances created and not a single key pass either. Defensively, he couldn’t win any of his tackles or even possession for that matter despite playing 70 minutes (Fotmob).
What’s next for Spurs?
Spurs still have plenty to fight for in the second leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which should be a tougher challenge. Before that, they turn their attention to the Premier League, where they host Bournemouth this Sunday.
The big debate now is whether Ange should rest key players for the second leg, potentially risking valuable league points, or play them and risk fatigue. The first option would make more sense but only time will tell if the decision was right.