Thomas Frank was pleased to see Tottenham finally build home momentum with a 3-0 win over Slavia Praha in the Champions League.
Tottenham Hotspur got their Champions League campaign back on track with a routine 3-0 win over Slavia Praha at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Spurs were beaten 5-3 by Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes in their last Champions League outing in November, so it was very much important for them to win here. After overcoming Brentford 2-0 at home in the Premier League last weekend, Thomas Frank and Co. were confident heading into the Slavia Praha game.
They started strongly and should’ve gone 1-0 up inside a minute when Wilson Odobert put the ball into a platter for Richarlison, whose point-blank range shot was instinctively denied by Slavia Praha goalkeeper. Nonetheless, the opening goal arrived in the 26th minute when David Zima put the ball into his own net. The own goal from Zima was followed up with second-half penalties from Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons.
Thomas Frank gives verdict on Tottenham’s win over Slavia Praha
Saturday’s victory over London rivals Brentford ended a near four-month wait for Premier League success at home. It also stopped the rut of five-game winless run in all competitions, which had attracted a lot of criticism for Thomas Frank.
Thus, the Champions League game against the Czech Republic champions was very important in terms of building some momentum after a period of lull in recent weeks. Thankfully, the Lilywhites convincingly dispatched Slavia 3-0 and moved closer to the automatic qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
When asked about his verdict on his team’s display against Slavia, Thomas Frank looked at the bigger picture, highlighting his side building momentum, especially at home. He said (h/t Football London):
“Yeah I was very happy that we built on the momentum from the Brentford game. Both home, but in general just in terms of performance I think there was more offensive, positive notes to take from the game as well.
“Positive individual performances but also the team just gelling a little bit more and more together in a tricky game against an opponent that is not easy to play against. Slavia Prague, big respect for them. The man-man physical pressure, but we got the job done and got three points so that was good.”
Spurs were full value for win against Slavia
A win does wonders to the confidence levels of a team, and it was well-documented with how Spurs approached the game against Slavia. On the back of a 2-0 success over Brentford, the Lilywhites took the game to the Czech Republic side right from the onset and put pressure on them. There was more cohesion between the players, linking well especially in the final third.
Back-to-back wins with clean sheets intact, Frank could not have asked for more. It was very much important to get the three points against a tricky opponent in the Champions League and move up the table. Momentum is crucial in this sport, and after two wins on the bounce, the north Londoners will head into the Nottingham Forest with a different level of self-belief.
