Everybody knew that Tottenham Hotspur’s biggest test in the opening round of this season’s Europa League would be their trip to Istanbul and that was before Galatasaray signed Victor Osimhen on loan from Napoli.
When Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, their two first-choice centre-backs, were ruled out through injury, things only became harder. To make matters even worse, young forward Mikey Moore did not travel after suffering from a virus. He joined the long list of absent forwards which includes Richarlison, Wilson Odobert and Timo Werner, while Son Heung-Min has only just returned to fitness after a persistent hamstring injury.
The atmosphere at Rams Park is ferocious. Galatasaray’s fans are fiercely devoted to the players and bowed to them during the warm-up. When Tottenham’s supporters dared to start singing, they were drowned out within seconds. The constant whistling and loud chants make it almost impossible to have a conversation with the person next to you, let alone hear what instructions your team-mate might be trying to pass on. Your ears are still ringing hours after you leave the stadium. Over the last couple of weeks, Ange Postecoglou has repeatedly spoken about exposing his squad to different challenges and this game provided them with one.
It was difficult to know how to feel at full time. Spurs lost a thrilling encounter 3-2 but, despite spending the last half an hour with 10 men after Will Lankshear was sent off, came close to escaping with a point. However, they were dreadful in the first half and Osimhen ripped the defence apart.
What became clear throughout the evening is that, apart from central midfield, there is a significant gap in quality between the starting XI and the fringe players. Radu Dragusin has only started 10 games in all competitions since he arrived from Genoa in January for £25million. There are times, including in the recent victories over Manchester City and Aston Villa, when he looks promising. He spent time at the beginning of his career with Juventus learning from Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci — the centre-back partnership that started Italy’s penalty shootout victory over England in the European Championship final three years ago. He excels at blocking shots and attacking crosses into the box. Postecoglou requires his defenders to be composed on the ball and this is where Dragusin needs to improve.
The way Dragusin lost possession in the build-up to Galatasaray’s third goal was similar to what happened when he was sent off after seven minutes against Qarabag in September. He does not look reliable with the ball compared to Van de Ven and Romero but the 22-year-old is still learning. Fraser Forster made some impressive saves but is not blessed with the same passing range as Guglielmo Vicario.
Dragusin had a difficult time with Osimhen (OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)
James Maddison has endured a curious few weeks. He set up Dejan Kulusevski’s equaliser against West Ham United but was taken off at half-time and struggled to make an impact in the defeat to Crystal Palace. The 27-year-old did not feature in last week’s memorable victory over Man City in the Carabao Cup. He did score a stunning free kick against Aston Villa but only came off the bench because Richarlison, who was a substitute, suffered a hamstring injury. While Kulusevski’s importance to this team grows, Maddison’s influence appears to be waning.
Maddison looked sluggish against Galatasaray and in the first few minutes was easily beaten to the ball by Lucas Torreira. When Lankshear attempted a one-two with Maddison, his senior team-mate stopped running. Postecoglou was visibly upset on the touchline.
Maddison and Lucas Bergvall gave the ball away far too easily and then found it difficult to win it back quickly. One of Bergvall’s first actions was to pass the ball backwards without realising Osimhen was lurking. Forster cleared the ball just before the Nigerian reached it. It speaks volumes about their performance that Spurs improved in the second half when Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr and Dominic Solanke came on even though they were reduced to 10 men. Postecoglou said his players “didn’t handle things well at all” and that their problems in the first half were “self-inflicted.”
“We had real simple solutions out there to keep the ball and as we showed with 10 men it wasn’t that difficult to do,” Postecoglou said. “We just didn’t. Individuals needed to be stronger on the ball and make sure we play the kind of football we try to do every week and we didn’t do that. Maybe it was a little bit the changes I made and the environment or the atmosphere, or whatever you want to call it. The moments that stick out to me are when there was no pressure on us and we are still giving the ball away.”
The way Galatasaray cut through Spurs was alarming, the result less so. This is the first time they have dropped points in the Europa League this season and their next fixture is at home against Roma, who have only won once and are 12th in Serie A. Spurs were playing with a disjointed back four and their second-choice goalkeeper. Son clearly needs more time to reach his top level after his injury.
Maddison struggled too in Istanbul (Ahmad Mora/Getty Images)
It was a bittersweet evening for Lankshear, who was sent off for picking up two yellow cards in 10 minutes but he scored a first senior goal on his second start. Archie Gray was excellent in an accustomed left-back role and showed his range of passing in the build-up to Lankshear’s goal. It was a steep learning curve for Gray, Bergvall and Lankshear but they will be better equipped for the future.
“The red card, it was a bit of overenthusiasm in that moment to give away a foul, but he’ll learn from that,” Postecoglou said. “The same with Lucas here. Giving him an understanding of the levels here. It is not easy when you are playing away in Europe. You can only allow them to learn that by exposing them to it. I thought Archie was great. It was a tough game for us defensively at different times but we’ll get so much growth out of him because he’s not playing in his position. I guess for three teenagers in the starting line-up, they’ll learn a lot from it and hopefully it helps with their development.”
It was a bruising experience for Spurs but Postecoglou will understand his squad much better now too.
(Top photo: OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)
