Glenn Hoddle does not expect Tottenham to get into the latter stages of the Champions League since Antonio Conte’s men are not able to cope with teams who defend deep and look to counter-attack.
Tottenham showed fantastic defensive organisation and displayed their counter-attacking capabilities to turn over Manchester City a little over a week ago.
However, the Lilywhites were torn to shreds by Leicester City on Saturday as they struggled to cope effectively with defensive transitions at the King Power Stadium.
Hoddle has said that teams in the latter stages of the Champions League will not allow Tottenham to play to their strengths and asserted that Conte’s tactics will come unstuck in the competition.
The Spurs legend said about his former side (via The Mirror): “Sometimes when they are expected to open a team up, that is when they become more of a problem.
“You are going to get some really top-quality coaches, top-quality players and I think teams will let Tottenham and come and say see if you are good enough to open us up because they know their Achilles heel will be their defending.
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“I think it sums up the way Conte plays – his mentality, the way he sets his team up, is for a long season, a grinding season and that is how he has achieved things.
“In knockout football, the groups are gone, this is the real Champions League football. You then have to change your philosophy, if you are 2-0 down, and you have to go for it.
“I don’t see him having that flexibility. I don’t see him playing that way or changing his way and that is perhaps what has caught him out in Europe.”
Hoddle insisted that Tottenham’s current backline is considerably weaker than the one they had when they finished runners-up in the Champions League back in 2019 but he insisted that Spurs have even more firepower upfront than they had four years ago.
When asked if this Tottenham squad is as good as that one under Pochettino, the 65-year-old responded: “No – purely because of the defensive side.
“Four years ago that back four was at its peak, that was a decent unit with the ball and defending the box. Don’t get me wrong, Tottenham still have that X factor going forward, and if Conte could play every game the way Spurs played against Manchester City the other day, that would be the template.
“Every time they broke, they looked dangerous – and they did it to City for 45 minutes up there as well. It was the defence that let them down that night. So overall, I would say this group is not as good, but at the top end of the pitch they are probably better.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Perhaps one of the reasons that Conte has a poor record in the Champions League is that teams are more tactically disciplined and are content to sit back and wait for you to make mistakes.
Despite the attacking quality Milan have at their disposal, they are unlikely to press us high up the pitch. So, this evening’s encounter could be a case of cat and mouse, with both teams waiting for the other one to make a mistake.
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