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Passionless Spurs fall at home
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PASSION should have been a prerequisite for Tottenham Hotspur on its return to the UEFA Champions League after a five-year absence, especially with 85,000 fans packed into Wembley Stadium.
So it was surprising to hear manager Mauricio Pochettino lament the lack of it from his players after a disheartening 1-2 home loss to Ligue 1 leader Monaco in their Group E opener.
Tottenham’s fans set a new club record attendance for a ‘home’ fixture — flocking to the national stadium in droves. But they left disappointed, probably wishing the match had been played at White Hart Lane.
The decision to play at Wembley was forced on the club as its historic White Hart Lane stadium, soon to make way for a new ground next door, has a reduced capacity of around 31,000.
Judging by Wednesday’s lackluster display in which Tottenham only shook off its apparent stage fright after goals by Bernardo Silva and Thomas Lemar put Monaco two ahead after 31 minutes, its Wembley stay may be shortlived.
Pochettino, whose side’s tenacity and energy saw it challenge for the Premier League last season before coming third, was deflated afterwards, and a little mystified.
Monaco boss Leonardo Jardim said his players had raised their game for the big stage and suggested the larger Wembley pitch had hindered Spurs.
“No that’s not an excuse,” Pochettino, whose side beat Monaco 4-1 at White Hart Lane last season in the Europa League, told reporters. “We conceded a goal after 15 minutes that is difficult to accept when you play for Tottenham.
“We needed to be more aggressive, more hungry and have more passion. We showed a lack of passion in the first half especially. It’s shame because we fought so hard to be here and this was a big opportunity to give the fans a good victory.”
In the other group game, Bayer Leverkusen and CSKA Moscow drew 2-2 in Germany.
In Group H, it was: Lyon 3, Dinamo Zagreb 0; and Juventus 0, Sevilla 0.
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