Tottenham were held to a 1-1 draw by Rangers at the Ibrox in the Europa League
Tottenham Hotspur were lucky to return home from the Ibrox with a point following a 1-1 draw with Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday.
The Lilywhites never really got going in the first half, lacking the cutting edge in the final hard to unlock the tight Rangers defence. In the process, they barely threatened goalkeeper Jack Butland. Rangers stuck to their plan and it paid dividends just minutes after the break when they took the lead via Hamza Igamane.
Perhaps, going a goal down was required to wake the Spurs players up. They upped the ante as the second half progressed and found the equaliser in the 75th minute from the left foot of Dejan Kulusevski, whose introduction at the break brought some much-needed gusto and spark to the team.
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However, Tottenham fans will not be able to forget the dreadful first half for some time. Forwards such as Son Heung-min, Timo Werner and Brennan Johnson were guilty of ceding possession multiple times, while Rodrigo Bentancur struggled to control the tempo of the game from the middle of the park against an aggressive, high-pressing Rangers side.
Former Scotland forward James McFadden slammed Spurs’ first-half display against Rangers. He criticised the players’ attitude to rock up at the Ibrox and play “however they wanted”.
“Tottenham were really poor in the first half. They did not have any energy. It looked like a lot of players thought they could turn up here and play however they wanted,” James McFadden was quoted by BBC Sport.
“However, Rangers showed them they are no pushovers. They controlled the game in the first half and should have been ahead. But they came out in the second half and got the reward for their performance.
“There was a slight improvement from Spurs after the changes, but in the end they didn’t do enough. A draw is a brilliant result for Rangers.”
Indeed, Spurs were ponderous in possession and lacked the bite in the final third to carve open the Rangers defence, with Postecoglou slamming Werner for his “unacceptable” first-half display. Call it an injury crisis or fatigue spreading throughout the squad, but a lack of leadership was evident on the pitch. Son Heung-min and James Maddison—the club’s captain and vice-captain—failed to inspire and provide energy when it was most required in the opening 45 minutes.
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Rangers almost nicked it in the end via striker Cyriel Dessers, but Fraser Forster stood tall and proved his value to the team once again by keeping out his shot. Big Ange and his players must thank Forster for helping them earn a point in Glasgow.
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A 1-1 draw at the hostile Ibrox isn’t the worst result under any circumstances. However, it does little to relieve the pressure from Big Ange’s shoulders as there remain a lot of questions that need answering.
