There’s a lot to cheer about as a Tottenham fan if you focus entirely on the Champions League and nothing else.
Spurs are through to the last 16 after another win in the Champions League this week. The Lilywhites finished fourth in the league phase and will get plenty of little advantages in the next round as a result.
As we wait to see who Tottenham will face in the last-16, we really should take a moment to celebrate what the team has achieved in the competition so far.
The win over Frankfurt was an impressive showing on the road, while Tottenham are unbeaten at home. Meanwhile, Dominic Solanke is scoring again, and the team really is raising its game in the Champions League.
Tottenham’s clean sheet record is best in Champions League
One big positive from the league phase, though, is the defensive work we’ve seen from Spurs. Indeed, the Lilywhites are yet to concede a goal at home, and Guglielmo Vicario has rarely been beaten at all in the competition.
In fact, if we look at the Champions League Golden Glove rankings right now, Vicario sits at the top of the pile. The Spurs man has kept six clean sheets in the eight games he’s played so far.
That puts him above David Raya, who has five clean sheets, while Nick Pope and Yann Sommer both have four clean sheets.
Obviously, he’ll need to keep shutting teams out for the whole tournament if he is to end up with the accolade, but it’s a very strong start from the Italian and shows just how impressive Tottenham have been so far.
What is going on with Guglielmo Vicario?
It’s so typical of Tottenham to be doing so well in Europe while being an absolute disaster in the Premier League this season. The similarities to last season under Ange Postecoglou are uncanny, to be honest.
Guglielmo Vicario is at the heart of that juxtaposition. Week after week in the league, he’s making mistakes that cost the team valuable points, and yet when he’s on the continental stage, he looks like one of the world’s very best goalkeepers.
There’s talk of Tottenham looking to replace Vicario, and you can see why. At his worst, the Italian is erratic, makes lots of mistakes and has no command of his area. However, when he’s at his best, he’s one of the most competent shot-stoppers in the game.
It’s frustrating, really. If he could just find some consistency across all his games, Vicario would be someone Spurs can rely on. Instead, he’s someone fans watch with a constant fear that something will go terribly wrong.