In a thrilling night of football, Spurs came from behind to draw 1-1 with Barcelona.
The Blaugrana hit the woodwork twice and Spurs ended up getting what they needed. The draw was huge, as it matched Inter’s result at home against PSV and sent Mauricio Pochettino’s men through to the round of 16. Who were the winners and losers?
Winner: Ousmane Dembélé
There’s a bit in Goodfellas where Henry Hill’s mistress Janice starts showing up late to work, leading Henry and his boys to beat up her boss and Henry screams “Janice can do whatever she wants, get it?!” and honestly it feels like Ousmane Dembélé’s goal was his own personal version of sending Henry and the boys in to bat for him.
Much has been made of Dembélé’s lack of professionalism this season, but sometimes there are players who are just so good that you have to give them a bit of leeway. Rather than being so strict with them, you try and coax them into the correct behaviour.
Dembélé is one such player; a winger of mesmeric and incomprehensible individual skill. A two-footed turbo-powered genius whose upper ceiling is as high as any other young player on the planet. His goal today was a glorious miracle, and proves why he needs trust, not scorn.
Loser: Kane’s finishing
In a display that was truly baffling, Harry Kane shot at goal with all the accuracy and threat of a tepid doormouse wielding a submachine gun. It was so strange to see a player like Kane, so reliably a big game threat, get a couple of genuinely decent looks at goal and absolutely waste them. Like, Kane didn’t just miss these shots they weren’t even close to making Jasper Cillessen work. This looked like every Spurs and England fan’s worst nightmare: Big Daddy Kane failing to produce.
Winner: Kane’s playmaking
But this is the beauty of Harry Kane, the breadth of his brilliance. Sure, he can have an off-day shooting the ball but that’s no longer the only way he can hurt you. Barcelona couldn’t handle his movement but he gave them no issues with his finishing. What happens in the end is that Harry Kane realises he’s shooting terribly and figures to use his other skills to create havoc; the man wears no. 10 for a reason.
So when he was fed in down the left with five minutes to play, ordinarily you wouldn’t have blamed him for cutting in and shooting – even from that angle. But no, Kane didn’t have it today and he knew that, so he sent in a lovely low cross for Lucas Moura to slam home, giving Spurs the draw they need. And minutes later he should have created a memorable victory when he reversed a pass beautifully to leave Danny Rose with an easy shot at Cillessen only for his compatriot to blaze over. Don’t you ever doubt Big Daddy Kane.
Loser: Jasper Cillessen
How is Jasper Cillessen a back-up goalkeeper? Seriously. As much as Spurs’ finishing was kind of wayward, they still created enough chances to beat the Blaugrana; but in their way they found a Dutch colossus.
Every shot they sent Cillessen’s way was repelled. No matter if it was a simple dribbler or a header that for all the world should have nestled in the back of the net. Cillessen found a way to get it out of there. It seemed like the night was destined to end with him the hero.
But that’s not how things have gone for Barcelona this season. So no, for all of his hard work and excellent saves, Jasper Cillessen won’t be remembered as a hero of anything – just another good Barcelona goalkeeping performance who can’t keep a clean sheet and has to go back to sitting on the bench for a month. Poor guy.
Winner: Lucas Moura (and Fernando Llorente)
Back when he played for PSG, Lucas Moura gave Barcelona a torrid time back in the 2012/13 Champions League quarter-finals. His pace and direct movement always seemed to trouble the Blaugrana. So when Spurs brought him off the bench, there must have been some Barcelona fans who could sense something brewing.
This sensation must have doubled when Fernando Llorente, another player who always does well against Barça. But nothing happened at first. Lucas even missed a great header. But in the end it was the combination of these two subs that rescued Spurs, because Llorente’s presence in the box allowed Harry Kane to spread wide, where he sent the ball into the box and Lucas managed to arrive at the near-post to slam the ball home. An enormous goal that means the world to Spurs.
Winner: La Masia
After a few lean years where Barça appeared to have lost track of their fabled La Masia youth academy, things are finally looking up again for the Blaugrana youngsters. 10 days ago, Carles Aleña scored his first ever Barcelona goal, then a week ago young Riqui Puig made his debut and bagged an assist at the same time. Now, here in the Champions League, Carles Aleña and Juan Miranda both started.
Miranda struggled at first, but showed incredible toughness to stick it out for the whole game and not crumble despite the fact that he was being obviously targeted by Spurs attacks. Meanwhile Aleña was absolutely resplendent and along with Arthur he ran the show for much of the contest. And even when Christian Eriksen stepped up the tempo to get Spurs back on top, it was Aleña who displayed that trademark Barcelona composure, carrying on with his business of keeping the ball and moving it on.
The post The winners and losers as Harry Kane’s channels his inner No.10 to secure vital result in Barcelona appeared first on Squawka News.
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