Match report
Full-time: Monaco 2-1 Spurs
Spurs are out of the Champions League and deservedly so. They have performed pitifully throughout the tournament, including tonight, when only Lloris prevented them from being beaten more severely. This was an inexplicably lame display from a team of dubious character. Monaco were great and will be a menace to whoever they meet in the next round.
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90+3 min: Mendy trips Kane, conceding a freekick at the right-hand corner of the box. Eriksen stands over it, primed to create a final chance for Spurs. But he fails to beat the first man, Sidibé heading it out for a corner. So we try again: Eriksen stands over it, primed to create a final chance for Spurs.
90+2 min: Two more minutes left for Spurs to turn up.
90 min: Janssen takes down a long punt from the back and swivels, abouyt 28 yards out. Is this his moment? Is this when he makes his belated introduction to the hearts of Spurs’ fans? Is this ... oh. A steward sets off to retrieve the ball from the stands.
88 min: I’d like to say Spurs are going out with a bong. But given the slackness of their performance, it would almost be more appropriate to say going out with a bong. But let’s not.
86 min: Eriksen curls a corner to the far post. Alli leaps to high so as to get well over the ball and turn a low volley towards goal. But he’s off-balance and skews the shot wide from six yards.
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84 min: Trippier booked for tripping Bakayoko. An accumulation of frustrations from the full-back, who spent most of the evening running helplessly after Mendy.
82 min: Mendy rolls his way past Eriksen and Trippier, then wins a corner off Dier. All throughout the game Spurs have had no idea how to contain the leftback.
Monaco substitution: Moutinho on, Lemar off.
79 min: Glik cuts out an attempted pass by Eriksen to Kane. The Pole has been in the way so often tonight that Kane should have been issued with a restricted view ticket.
Spurs substitution: Sissoko on, Winks off
Monaco substitution: Carrillo on, Germain off.
76 min: A rubbish corner by Eriksen.
74 min: Lloris to the rescue again, beating away a 15-yard shot by Falcao after Dier had gone a-wandering.
73 min: Ouch! Rose catches Sidibé’s knee flush in the face after sliding in to block a cross. That would have knocked out many men, but this Rose is made of steel, apparently.
71 min: Spurs’ two subs combine: Janssen picks out Eriksen in the box. The Dane controls, then makes space for a shot, trying to curl it around into the far corner. It takes a nick off Glik and whizzes wide.
70 min: Mendy - yet again totally free on the flank - receives the ball, looks up and measures a nice cross. Tottenham scramble clear.
67 min: Lemar curls over a freekick from deep on the left. Glik charges in from the right and gets his toe to it on the volley, sending the ball goalwards at a tremendous clatter. Lloris has nanoseconds to react ... and that’s all he needs, as he throws up has hands and tips the ball over the bar! A wonderful save that keeps Spurs alive in the game!
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Spurs substitution: Janssen and Eriksen on for Son and Dembélé. Son was terrible, in fairness. Be nice: don’t say Janssen is a like-for-like replacement.
63 min: Silva sets off on a run from midfield, gliding in from the right and jinking past a couple of Spurs stragglers before letting fly with a left-footer from 20 yards. Lloris gets down to save well.
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61 min: The last five minutes or so have probably been Spurs’ best of the match. They’ve got some crispness into their play and started to pen Monaco back a bit...
59 min: Trippier curls in a fine freekick. Alli hurls himself at it but can’t connect properly, though he at least puts it backwards into the mixer. Wanyama has a swipe from 10 yards and it goes through several bodies before arriving at Son, who tries to turn it towards goal from six yards. But the keeper saves. And it was offside anyway.
56 min: Wanyama spoons the ball wide to Trippier, who volleys over a decent cross. Glik hoof it away but Wanyama gets it back. Falcao slides in to dispossess him but it’s a cack-footed tackle. Yellow card, and a freekick in a decent crossing position for Spurs.
GOAL! Monaco 2-1 Spurs (Lemar 53)
That is the most Spursy thing ever! 38 seconds after equalising, Spurs concede again. Sidibé cantered down the right and floated over a cross that ran all the way to Lemar, coming in on the far side. He took a touch and then cracked a low shot into the far corner!
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GOAL! Monaco 1-1 Spurs (Kane pen 52)
Subasic get both hands to it but the power of the drive took the ball into the net. Spurs are back in it.
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PENALTY TO SPURS!
Alli gets his foot on a long pass and is dragged down by Glik.
50 min: Rose’s cross is headed behind for a corner. Glik heads Son’s delivery away.
GOAL! Monaco 1-0 Spurs (Sidibé 48)
Mendy makes inroads down the left yet again, cuts easily past Winks and crosses to the other full-back, Sidibé, who is unattended eight yards from goal and plants a perfect header into the net. Woeful defending by Spurs. Sexit looms.
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47 min: The camera pans to Pochettino, exhaling on the sideline like a man trying not to erupt. Spurs still look sluggish.
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46 min: Here they go again, like Whitesnake. No changes during the break.
Half-time: Monaco 0-0 Spurs
This game should not be goalless but may remain so if finishing remains as sloppy as it has been so far. Lloris, in fairness, did well to save Falcao’s penalty, even if it was tamely struck, but Son should have scored for Spurs and Germain had a good chance for Monaco, who’ve been the better side for most of the game. Spurs defence is a mess.
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43 min: A quick freekick by Fabinho sends Silva running free down the right. He makes it all the way to the byline and then turns around and nudges it back to Sidibé, who tries to flight a little cross to the back post. But it’s too close to Lloris.
41 min: Lemar hoists a deep corner over way beyond the far post. Jermerson gets a head to it - his own, fortunately - but can’t guide it on to the target.
40 min: Silva releases Germain with a clever through ball, the forward having again peeled away to the left. He tries to pick out Falcao with a low cross but Wimmer slides in to intercept.
37 min: Kame makes a strong run down the right and delivers a dangerous cross. Monaco get it away but not for long, as Spurs regain possession and work it wide to the other side. Kane makes his way into the box in time to receive the low cross ... but then gets his attempted shot all wrong, shanking the ball backwards with his left foot from 12 yards!
34 min: Germain makes a shrewd run down the side of Wimmer and collects a pass from deep, then flashes a low shot from an acute angle just past the far post.
33 min: Alli slices open the Monaco defence with a lovely throughball to Son. The Korean drives to the byline and then tries to pull it back towards the penalty area ... but it reaches a defender rather than Kane.
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31 min: Trippier finally blocks a cross - from Lemar rather than Mendy. The upshot is a corner to Monaco. Rose heads clear.
28 min: Mendy overhits a cross from the left. Germain retrieves it and rolls it back to Sidibé. A nice exchange at the edge of the area gives Fabinho a chance to try a curler towards the far corner. He doesn’t get his connection right and it sails wide. But there was a doziness to Spurs throughout that move that can only encourage the hosts.
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26 min: Spurs have been really flat so far, apart from the first couple of minutes. Son has been particularly awful. He’s given the ball away nearly every time he has got it. His last error presents Silva with a chance to have a bang, albeit from 25 yards. Comfortable save for Lloris.
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24 min: Falcao holds of Winks in midfield, and then tops that by holding off Dier - until the defender hauls him down. Freekick to Monaco.
21 min: Dembélé tries to dodge his way past three opponents in midfield but strength of numbers eventually tells, and he reacts by tripping Fabinho to stop a counter-attack. The ref gives him a booking to discourage him from ever resorting to that again.
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18 min: Freekick to Spurs in a promising position after Sidibé takes out Alli. It’s a tad too far out to shoot, but a nice clip into the area would cause danger. But a nice clip is not waht Son produces, as he clunks it all the way to Subasic, who makes an easy catch.
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15 min: Mendy curls an easy cross over from the left and finds Germain, who is inexplicably free about seven yards out. The forward’s header is weak, granting Spurs’ an undeserved reprieve. Tottenham are going to have to get their attacking mojo going because there’s little chance of them not conceding at this rate ...
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13 min: Mendy is causing havoc down the left for Monaco. Trippier is getting no protection from midfield and is being bypassed with ease by the rampaging fullback, who latest shot forced a decent save by Lloris.
PENALTY SAVED!
Lloris dives to his right and blocks Falcao’s low trickler! That resurgence may be petering out ... and Fabinho will likely be put straight back on spotkick duty, having scored all of his previous 14.
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PENALTY TO MONACO
Dier swings his left leg the ball casually at the ball, but Fabinho gets to it first and is caught by the defender. Clear penalty!
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9 min: Alli has the ball nicked off him in midfield and Monaco rip forward ...
6 min: What a chance for Spurs! A simple low pass from Alli in midfield sends Son racing through on goal - Sidibé had sabotaged his own team’s offside trap by dawdling behind everyone else. Subasic dashes off his line to meet Son near the edge of the area; the Korea tries to go around him but takes it so far wide that he’s no longer in a position to shoot. His rather sad cross is headed away by Glik. Chance wasted!
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4 min: Lovely one-touch interplay by Monaco results in Lemar scampering clear down the left. His cross comes to nothing but Monaco’s liveliness is a warning to Spurs.
2 min: A pleasingly high-intensity start by both teams here lots of snap in the tackles.
1 min: Spurs kick off, wearing all black. Best watch out for high tackles, then.
The teams are on the pitch, engaging in various formalities. The Stade Louis II isn’t exactly a bubbling cauldron - more like a holey bucket - but it’s home and Monaco like it.
“Could I suggest that we all stop judging attacking players on their form in France?” carps David Flynn. “United and Chelsea fans might caution Spurs defence to not be too worried about the ‘threat’ of Falcao. For further reading please Zlatan and Balotelli.” Falcao also scored two goals in his last Champions League match.
“Spurs have Rose suspended this weekend and Davies injured so Vertonghen has been rested tonight for the weekend clash against Chelsea where he will play left-back,” reckons Logan.
Pochettino has just spoken to BT and, to be frank, he needn’t have bothered. Here’s what he said about his curious team selection: “We always try to select the best team. We picked different players for different reasons. We have a strong squad. Today we believe this is best starting eleven to get three points.” So now you know.
“Regarding ‘drinks whenever you fancy’ in the preamble, could you sink a swift one for us now please?” asks JJ. “I’m not looking forward to this with any optimism. D’you know
what the story is with Vertonghen and Walker being on the bench?” Not entirely sure yet. Either they have niggles or they’re punished for shoddy performances against Leverkusen in the last game. If they’re fully fit, it’s a bold call by Pochettino.
Teams:
That’s not a Spurs defence that inspires confidence. That, along with the 1-1 draw between CSKA Moscow and Leverkusen, are big incentives for Monaco to bin any unlikely plans they had of holding out for a draw and instead go for the win that would clinch top spot in the group.
Monaco: Subasic; Sidibé, Jemerson, Glik, Mendy; Silva, Bakayoko, Fabinho, Lemar; Germain, Falcao
Subs: De Sanctis, Moutinho, Carrillo, Raggi, Boschilia, Mbappé, Diallo
Spurs: Lloris; Trippier, Dier, Wimmer, Rose; Wanyama, Dembélé; Winks, Alli, Son; Kane
Subs: Vorm, Vertonghen, Walker, Eriksen, Sissoko, Nkoudou, Janssen.
Referee: B Kuipers (Holland)
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to a match that Mauricio Pochettino says his team must win to avoid Sexit. OK, those weren’t his exact words and Spurs may not leave Europe if they fail to win today - Sexit doesn’t necessarily mean Sexit - because a draw might still prove enough depending on the result of the last round of matches and, besides, even with a defeat they could still carry on in the Europa League. But the Champions League is where they want to be and their best chances of remaining there beyond the group stages is to get the win that their manager insists they need today.
Monaco’s main strength this season has been attacking (they’re the highest scorers in Europe’s main domestic leagues) and Spurs has been defence (the tightest in the Premier League) but each will be hoping the less celebrated aspects of their game are to the fore today: because Spurs needs to score and Monaco will need to defend well. Not that Monaco are likely to confine themselves to trying to shut out Spurs just because a draw will suffice to send them through to the next round: they are adventurous by nature and have in-form attackers so they’ll be minded to take the fight to Spurs rather than just parry whatever blows the visitors can throw, especially with Toby Alderweireld missing and Jan Vertonghen and Kyle Walker benched. The duels of the thrilling young wingers Bernardo Silva and Thomas Lemar with Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose could be among the highlights of the evening, and if you remember Radomel Falcao only as the miserable figure who shambled around Premier League grounds for Manchester United and Chelsea, then you may not recognise the dashing striker in action for the hosts this evening. But Spurs, of course, have nimble forwards of their own and are certainly capable of winning – provided they play more like they did in the rousing final few minutes of Saturday’s game against West Ham and less like they have done in their meek outings at Wembley in this tournament. We’ll have team news soon, and drinks whenever you fancy. In the meantime, here’s article on famous Tottenham wins in France:
At least that’s where it would have been if Spurs had ever won in France, which they haven’t. Here instead is an article about the man Harry Kane will be attempting to outgun:
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