European nights under the floodlights have a habit of hitting harder than your usual run-of-the-mill domestic encounter.
For former Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld, the 2019 Champions League semi-final against his old side Ajax certainly falls under that category.
Spurs arrived in Amsterdam on the back of a 1-0 defeat in the first leg and soon found themselves with a mountain to climb after shipping in another two goals before half-time.
Alderweireld on Spurs’ Ajax comeback
Goals from Donny van Beek and Matthijs de Ligt meant that Spurs were staring down the barrel going into the final quarter of the tie, and even Alderweireld doubted that this would be Tottenham’s night.
“We lost the first leg of the semi-final 1-0 at home, then were 2-0 down at half-time in Amsterdam,” he recalls to FourFourTwo.
“We needed to score three, and we weren’t playing well – I thought ‘I want to go home, this is not going to happen’.”
Tottenham came out of the half-time period needing an immediate response, with boss Mauricio Pochettino turning to striker Fernando Llorente as Spurs changed their approach, swapping intricate football for a more bruising style of play.
“Then Fernando Llorente came on and we played some power football with long balls, because we were a physically strong team,” says Alderweireld. This tactical shift put Spurs on the front foot and gave them a puncher’s chance of forcing a remarkable comeback.
“Lucas Moura scored the first, and the second,” Alderweireld adds. That left Spurs with 30 minutes to find a third, which would give them the advantage on away goals.
Time was almost up when Moura completed his hat-trick to vault Spurs into their first-ever Champions League final and complete one of the greatest comebacks in the competition’s history.
“When he got the third in the last minute, it was unbelievable,” the Belgian adds before admitting that the victory was somewhat bittersweet, given the nature of the opponents.
“To kill the dream of my former club was a strange feeling,” he admits. “They gave me my education and made me a pro, so I’ll always be grateful.
“But football is like that, and I was happy – I was going to a Champions League final.”
Alderweireld was speaking in association with BOYLE Sports 2 Goals Ahead