Tottenham boss Thomas Frank was blown away by Micky van de Ven’s wondergoal against FC Copenhagen, joking that Lionel Messi temporarily turned into his Dutch defender.
With Spurs leading 2-0, but having just gone down to 10 men following Brennan Johnson’s red card, Van de Ven sealed the points in the Champions League clash with a remarkable solo effort.
The 24-year-old received the ball on the edge of his area and burst forward, flying past a number of Copenhagen players and their half-hearted challenges before calmly drilling a finish into the bottom corner.
If you haven't seen Micky van de Ven's solo goal yet watch this! 😱
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) November 4, 2025
...and if you have seen Micky van de Ven's solo goal watch it again! 🤯#UCLGOTD | @Heineken pic.twitter.com/rvDUBeYZwG
Joao Palhinha’s effort would make it 4-0 shortly afterwards and Spurs climbed to seventh in the Champions League standings with a second win in four games, to go with two draws.
And Frank was flabbergasted by what his centre-back accomplished, especially coming just days after a minor controversy where Van de Ven and Djed Spence stormed down the tunnel following defeat to Chelsea, refusing to acknowledge their manager or the Tottenham fans.
Frank joked: “He can keep walking past me if he’s angry after a game if he delivers like that!
“It seems like we had Lionel Messi turned into Micky van de Ven, roaring down from his own goal all the way to the other end and scored a fantastic goal. I think he’s our top scorer in all competitions, so he can keep going.”
Van de Ven has become something of a goal machine for Tottenham this season, scoring in the Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain in August and now netting on five further occasions this term – including twice in the 3-0 victory at Everton last month.
However, this solo effort was clearly the best of the lot, although the Dutchman downplayed it in the aftermath.
“I started dribbling and thought I would see if they would catch up and they didn’t,” Van de Ven said after the match. “I was feeling good, and I felt amazing in the sprint, I felt like I could keep going.”
Former England midfielder Owen Hargreaves was more effusive about the goal in his role as a pundit on TNT Sports.
“It’s one of the best goals you will ever see, ever,” said Hargreaves. “He runs past players like they’re not even there. To stay strong and then to finish, that’s ridiculous. Goal of the season, game over.”
Spurs had come in for huge criticism following a dismal display against Chelsea at the weekend, that ended in a 1-0 defeat.
The performance prompted Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher to claim that it was “like watching a League Two team against a Premier League team in the FA Cup”.
The 4-0 obliteration of Copenhagen was the perfect riposte but Frank wasn’t biting when asked to now reflect on Carragher’s comments.
“I didn’t see (Carragher’s) comments, so not too much to say to that,” Frank insisted. “They need to say something about the games. I’ve been a pundit myself sometimes. Put it this way, I know it’s easier to be that than stand down there.
“I saw a good performance today, which I’m happy with. We talk a lot about that bounce-back mentality because in life and football there will be setbacks.
“Every team will experience that and it’s how we react to that to come out after a bad game or a bad spell and come back to it. That’s part of a good team. I’m very happy with the response the players came with.”
However, Frank was reluctant to point to the win as a huge turning point, given the calibre of the opposition, although the mood around the white half of north London will certainly be brighter for the visit of Man United on Saturday.
He added: “It was important. You want your bad performance to get out of the way straight away and the quicker you can bounce back, the better. I was happy with the response.”
