Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou praises his players after beating Hoffenheim
Tottenham Hotspur defeated Hoffenheim 3-2 in the Europa League on Thursday evening in what was a very nervy affair.
The Lilywhites took the lead after just three minutes, with Pedro Porro perfectly picking out James Maddison with a long ball over the top of Hoffenheim’s defence and the England midfielder expertly controlling it before lashing it into the roof of the net. Son Heung-min doubled the lead on a decisive counter-attacking move, albeit with a huge deflection.
Despite being dominated in the first half, Hoffenheim came out in the second half. Just minutes after a VAR chopped off their on-field penalty decision, the German side got a goal back via Anton Stach.
While they strived hard for the equalizer, Son restored Spurs’ two-goal cushion in the 77th minute with a fantastic left-footed finish right into the bottom corner. However, Hoffenheim gave themselves late interest by making it 3-2 from substitute David Mokwa, who guided his header into the back of the net.
Credit to the Tottenham players for showing character and nerves to hold onto the lead and points. And by doing so, they are guaranteed a place in the competition’s knockout rounds.
Tottenham had travelled to Germany without a total of 14 senior players. Their bench on Thursday comprised two goalkeepers and academy kids, with Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear being the senior outfield players. Yet, the North Londoners managed to overcome a tricky away game and qualify for the knockouts.
Ange Postecoglou shared his thoughts after the game, heaping praise on his squad for showing resilience and character to win against the German side. He singled four players out following the victory.
“Just outstanding by the players, full credit to them. Winning away in Europe is always difficult irrespective of the situation you’re in, but with the situation we’re in, just a really unbelievable effort,” Ange Postecoglou told Football London.
“Great leadership by the experienced players. We really needed them to stand up today. I thought Madders, Sonny, Rodrigo and Benny were outstanding.
“I think you take European victories for granted, but it was a really unbelievable effort and a really strong-willed group of players today and credit to them.”
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Recent weeks have been challenging for Postecoglou’s side with them enduring back-to-back defeats in the Premier League. A crushing defeat in the North London derby was followed by a shock loss to relegation-threatened Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday.
Consecutive losses piled up the pressure on Big Ange as he saw his team slip down the Premier League table to a lowly 15th, eight points above the drop zone. The Australian tactician—surrounded by all kinds of speculation over his future—wanted a strong response from his boys in midweek and he got that.
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Credit to senior players such as Son, Maddison, Bentancur and Kulusevski for leading the group and helping Big Ange get a breather by beating Hoffenheim. With the mood within the Spurs camp low, a victory in the continental competition was much-needed to lift the spirits ahead of the Premier League clash against Leicester City on Sunday.
