Tottenham Hotspur climb up to 7th in the Champions League table following their dominant 4-0 victory over FC Copenhagen in matchweek four.
With a point to prove after an awful performance that thankfully just ended 1-0 against Chelsea at the weekend, Thomas Frank’s men did exactly that. The home fans needed this kind of display after a woeful domestic run at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Four different scorers ensured Spurs returned to winning ways in Europe after back-to-back draws against Bodo/Glimt and Monaco.
With limited options available, Thomas Frank stuck with the strongest XI possible. Mohammed Kudus missed out with a knock, while Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero returned to the line-up in place of Djed Spence and Kevin Danso.
First half: Tottenham 1-0 FC Copenhagen
It was a far livelier start from the home side than anything the fans had seen recently, full of energy and intent.
After Brennan Johnson’s heavy first touch denied him an early chance, he soon made up for it when a clever through ball from Xavi Simons split the Copenhagen defence, and the Welshman rounded the keeper before rolling the ball into the empty net from a tight angle.
Johnson nearly turned provider shortly after, darting down the right before lobbing a cross towards Pape Matar Sarr, who couldn’t quite direct his header on target.
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Xavi was at the heart of everything good for Spurs and was unlucky not to collect another assist when he slipped in Randal Kolo Muani, who dragged his effort wide from close range.
Credit to the Frenchman for finding himself in promising areas, but he unfortunately couldn’t apply the finishing touch, missing another glorious chance in stoppage time after heading over from Xavi’s cross.
Second half: Tottenham 4-0 FC Copenhagen
All that slick build-up play finally got the scoreline it deserved just 5 minutes into the restart. Kolo Muani chased a long Pedro Porro pass, blocked the keeper’s attempted clearance, and, instead of volleying into an open net, he brought it down before squaring it for Wilson Odobert to roll it home.
But if anyone thought that would slow them down, they were wrong, as moments later, Micky van de Ven produced something you simply can’t describe properly in words.
Picking up the ball on the edge of his own box, he charged through half the Copenhagen team, before bending a finish past the goalkeeper that even Son Heung-min would’ve applauded.
Before the celebrations had even settled, Spurs bagged a fourth. Odobert led another Spurs’ counter-attack and picked out Romero charging into the box. The captain played it across to Joao Palhinha, who tapped it into the net via the keeper’s hand.
Kolo Muani could’ve easily joined the scoresheet after all his hard work, but his one-on-one effort was saved well by the goalkeeper. He was then replaced by Richarlison, who didn’t have much better luck, crashing a header off the crossbar from Porro’s perfect delivery.
Late on, Dane Scarlett did well to burst into the box on his Champions League debut before being fouled for a penalty. But when Richarlison stepped up, he rattled that same crossbar again.
FT: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 4-0 FC Copenhagen
Spurs Web man of the match: Xavi Simons
What’s next for Spurs?
If this is what Spurs look like when they go down to 10 men, maybe they should try it more often.
It was a well-picked starting XI that actually made a big difference because of how well the players complemented each other.
The midfield and defence looked sharper, finding Xavi Simons more often, and he did wonders with the ball this time, unlike in the last few games where he barely got involved and faced criticism for lacking creativity.
He would’ve easily bagged at least one more assist, maybe even a goal, had it not been for the red card that forced his substitution.
The most important thing, though, is that Spurs looked really good on the ball; playing forward, linking up through the middle, and showing real confidence again. Of course, the return of Cristian Romero played a huge part in that.
Now, the real challenge is to carry this energy into the Premier League at the weekend, when Spurs host Manchester United.