Monaco secured a 2-1 win over Tottenham to put the English team out of the Champions League even without the final game of the group stage being played. Such has been the disappointing performance of the English outfit in Europe this season that it has left fans raging especially after witnessing the performance of Heung-min Son.
Heung-min Son has been one of the surprise elements for Tottenham this season. He was head and shoulders above the Tottenham team that managed a surprise 2-0 win over Manchester City earlier in the season. Since then, his performances have actually declined but his showing against Monaco left a lot to be desired.
The South Korean had a great opportunity to put Tottenham in front after just six minutes. However, he appeared to fluff his lines at the worst possible moment after going one-on-one with the goalkeeper. He never seemed to recover from this setback and has performances got worse as the game progressed. Alongside Eric Dier, he was probably the worst player on the pitch for Tottenham as they quickly came out of the Champions League.
Heung-min had a pass accuracy of just 71%, which is unacceptable even if he was playing up front. The 24-year-old was part of the front three that played in support of Harry Kane, who scored the only goal for Spurs from the penalty spot.
It remains to be seen if Son will play a part in the club’s visit to Stamford Bridge this weekend.
SON COST US THE GAME, HES AFRAID TO GO IN A CHALLENGE
— Spurs22 (@SpursD22) November 22, 2016
Defensive display was nothing but awful. Midfielders were off the pace entirely and Son cost us a win. Lloris only one who cared
— Dele Ollie (@DeleOllie) November 22, 2016
Embarrassing performance. Awful to watch from the first minute. CBs a calamity all night. Alli, Son, Dembele shocking. #thfc
— Sean (@Tottingham_Sean) November 22, 2016
@bbc606 #THFC fan, so disappointing and poor tonight. Shambles in defence Wimmer in particular and Son was terrible as well. Not happy
— Luke Jack Conlaund (@ConlaundLuke) November 22, 2016
Son scores different game. Fact. Conceding after equalizing poor concentration not poor selection. Poch and players to blame.
— Michael Dalton (@TheDaltonator) November 22, 2016
Son bottled it for Spurs. Lad could not chip the ball over the keeper.Very poor #UCL #MONTOT #ChampionsLeague
— matt kowech (@MattKowech) November 22, 2016
Tottenham’s slender hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition were revived when Kane scored from the penalty spot. The club’s confidence has been shot in recent weeks following a run of one win in eight games. Monaco were quickly able to capitalise on the lack of confidence by going up to the other end and scoring straight from the kick-off. Tottenham never really recovered from the setback and did not look like getting back into the match.
The club is now in danger of even conceding the third spot, which would at least provide them with Europa League football in the second half of the season. After having taken only four points from the five matches, CSKA Moscow are only one point behind the English club. The only source of consolation may be that this final game will be played at home, although this may not be much of a consolation when looking at the home form of the team in Europe this season.
Spurs have been playing the European home matches at the new Wembley and this seems to have affected their playing style quite badly. After having lost both their home matches in Europe, the team are likely to be in a shaky mood going into the CSKA Moscow match.
