Tottenham Hotspur drew 2-2 at home against AS Roma
Tottenham Hotspur dropped points in the UEFA Europa League for a second successive match as a loss away at Galatasaray on the last matchday was followed up by a share of the spoils against AS Roma at home in Thursday’s meeting with the Italian giants.
The Giallorossi came back from a goal down twice in the match. Son Heung-min’s penalty gave the Lilywhites an early lead in what should have been a routine win, although Evan N’Dicka hit back shortly thereafter to draw the game level. Brennan Johnson restored the lead with 10 minutes to go until half time and it looked all Tottenham following the Welshman’s strike, but Mats Hummels scored in second-half stoppage time to give his side one point in north London and steal two off Spurs at the death.
After three straight wins to begin their continental season, Ange Postecoglou will hope that two games without victory do not lead to a massive derailing of his side’s campaign. With that said, here is a look at the three talking points from the game.
Another inconsistent Tottenham run
Tottenham Hotspur are without a shadow of doubt the most inconsistent team in the Premier League, if not in Europe. After hammering Manchester City, they were significantly the favourites to beat a Roma side that is on its third manager of the season. Spurs even had the home advantage and did not have any major fitness issues that occurred between the City match and now apart from Guglielmo Vicario’s absence.
Ange Postecoglou even went ahead with a starting eleven without making too many rotations, so he will undoubtedly be puzzled that he was not the victor of all three points on Thursday. In the Premier League, losses against Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town have recently cost the team some vital points and it is looking like a trend that is threatening to impact Spurs in the Europa League too.
Spurs denied by a brilliant goalkeeping show
As inconsistent as Tottenham Hotspur would have been, their opponents also deserve the plaudits for snatching a point off them, with goalkeeper Mile Svilar leading the show. Spurs had a total of 24 shots at goal, 12 of which were on target. They were denied by AS Roma’s goalkeeper on nine occasions, some of which were admittedly brilliant parries away by the Slovakian star.
Roma’s three-man backline consisting of Mats Hummels, Evan N’Dicka and Gianluca Mancini also held the fort well for the Serie A outfit at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They were disciplined from a positional standpoint and had a good chemistry to nullify Spurs’ offensive threat, especially in the second half of the match, with wing backs Angelino and Mehmet Celik also contributing to the goods at the back when playing without the ball.
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Maddison’s confusing situation continues
James Maddison started and scored a brace on his birthday last weekend as Tottenham Hotspur thumped Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. The former Leicester City midfielder went into the match with a fortnight of rest under his belt after not being called up for international duty by Lee Carsley for England’s UEFA Nations League matches earlier in the month.
However, his performances were not rewarded by Ange Postecoglou with a place in the starting eleven, which is rather puzzling given the player had sufficient rest between both matches and did not have any fitness problems either. There were questions raised regarding his future some weeks back and if the trend continues, the rumours of his exit will not die down any time soon.