Mauricio Pochettino’s men assessed after drawing 1-1 with Besiktas.
Tottenham Hotspur remain without a win in this season’s Europa League group stage after throwing away a 1-0 lead to draw 1-1 with Besiktas on Thursday evening.
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Harry Kane Goal Video.
Demba Ba Goal Video, Including Vlad Chiriches Errors.
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The Turkish side were the better team on the night, but Tottenham took the lead on 27 minutes courtesy of a moment of individual brilliance from Harry Kane.
Spurs were close to hanging on to a big three points thanks to a string of fine saves by Hugo Lloris.
However, a dreadful error by Vlad Chiriches handed Besiktas an 89th-minute penalty, which former Chelsea forward Demba Ba stroked into the net.
Here’s how Mauricio Pochettino’s men rated…
Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris – 9/10
Did absolutely nothing wrong. His decision-making on when to come for crosses was spot-on and he made three world class saves, including one to deny Demba Ba in the second half. Deserved a clean sheet, but the late penalty spoiled his linen.
Right-back: Eric Dier – 7/10
Was unable to get forward as much as he would have liked, but he stuck to his defensive responsibilities well and showed impressive maturity.
Left-back: Ben Davies – 6/10
Picked up a yellow card for a very poor tackle on Jose Sosa on seven minutes. With the booking hanging over his head, he managed a difficult situation well for the rest of the game, keeping out of trouble and playing OK.
Centre-back: Vlad Chiriches – 2/10
Horrendous! Made a sloppy mistake in the second minute to gift Besiktas a clear chance, which was wasted. That error set the tone for another nervy display. The way he conceded the late penalty was truly staggering. After executing an embarrassing air kick, he used his hand to poke the ball away from Mustafa Pektemek. What a plonker!
Centre-back: Federico Fazio – 7/10
Was kept very busy and coped well with the pressure, making eight clearances and winning four aerial duels.
Midfield: Benjamin Stambouli – 7/10
Combative and keen. Made more tackles than any other Spurs player.
Midfield: Nabil Bentaleb – 7/10
Neat and tidy. Classy on the ball and disciplined without it. Came close to firing Spurs 2-0 up, but fizzed a low shot just wide.
Attacking midfield: Paulinho 5/10
Anonymous during his 60-minute outing.
Attacking midfield: Harry Kane – 8/10
Excelled in the number 10 role and scored a brilliant solo goal to put Tottenham ahead against the run of play.
Attacking midfield: Andros Townsend – 6/10
Did very little to justify his inclusion in Roy Hodgson’s latest England squad.
Striker: Roberto Soldado – 5/10
Made just 29 touches in 79 minutes. The only starter to have fewer touches of the ball was Besiktas goalkeeper Tolga Zengin (26).
Subs:
Aaron Lennon – 6/10
Mousa Dembele – 7/10
Emmanuel Adebayor – 5/10
