Lucas Bergvall was reportedly seen making an interesting gesture to the travelling Tottenham fans after the North London club fell to a 1-0 loss in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 tie against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday.
Alkmaar have a brilliant record in the knockout stages of the Europa League, having won eight of their last nine two-legged ties in the competition, including the 6-3 on aggregate against Galatasaray in the last round.
That is why Tottenham’s task at hand at AFAS Stadium was never going to be easy, and so it proved as the Dutch side got in the faces of the Lilywhites and made life difficult for them.
The goal that separated the two sides came in the 18th minute, with Lucas Bergvall’s hacked clearance from an Alkmaar corner kick sailing into Tottenham’s net despite efforts from Djed Spence and Guglielmo Vicario to stop it.
Lucas Bergvall’s gesture to Spurs fans after the final whistle
Bergvall had a decent game, recovering well from the error he made in the first half, but it is clear that the own goal was still playing on the 18-year-old’s mind.
BBC Sport reveal that when the Tottenham players went over to applaud the travelling fans after the final whistle, the Swede made an interesting gesture.
The teenager is said to have held his hand up in apology to the Spurs fans, which was perhaps not just for the result but also for his personal mistake that led to the goal.
Bergvall can hold his head up high
Own goals can happen to anyone, but the important part is that Bergvall did not let himself be affected by that mistake and was arguably one of Tottenham’s best players on the day.
| Lucas Bergvall stats v AZ | |
| Touches | 64 |
| Accurate passes | 34/37 (92%) |
| Key passes | 1 |
| Long balls (acc.) | 2 (2) |
| Shots off target | 1 |
| Dribble attempts (succ.) | 6 (2) |
| Ground duels (won) | 12 (5) |
| Clearances | 1 |
| Blocked shots | 1 |
| Total tackles | 2 |
The midfielder had a 92 per cent pass accuracy, played a key pass, had two successful dribbles, two tackles, one blocked shot and won five ground duals, in what was an all-action performance.
The young midfielder has made himself undroppable with his performances and he is going to have a crucial role to play if Tottenham are going to overcome the 1-0 deficit at home next week.
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