MusaMicky van de Ven has admitted that Tottenham Hotspur were simply “not good enough” during their latest defeat, insisting that certain aspects of their performance against Aston Villa were “not acceptable.”
The 25-year-old defender acknowledged that conceding the opening goal while Spurs were temporarily down to 10 men made the situation particularly difficult. Van de Ven had briefly left the pitch to receive treatment for a cut underneath his eye when Aston Villa took advantage.
During his absence, Johan Manzambi’s deflection from Boubacar Kamara’s effort sent the ball beyond Antonin Kinsky to give Villa the lead.
Van de Ven felt Tottenham had performed strongly during the opening 45 minutes and created several opportunities, but he admitted their second-half display fell well below the required standard.
Speaking to TNT Sports, the Spurs captain said: “I think in the first half we played really well and created a lot of chances. We conceded with 10 men, and that is always tough.
“The second half is just not good enough from us. The way we conceded goals today is not good. I want to review it first, but there are things that are not acceptable, and we have to do better.
“We need to stay positive. It is difficult right now because everyone is going on the international break, but when we come back, we have to work.”
Tottenham eventually found the net for the first time in the Premier League this season, scoring twice late in the match to give themselves hope of an unlikely comeback. However, the late response was not enough to prevent another defeat.
The result marked Spurs’ third loss of the campaign and left them second-bottom of the Premier League table. They could fall to the bottom if Fulham avoid defeat against Manchester United on Sunday, increasing the pressure surrounding Roberto De Zerbi as the international break begins.
De Zerbi admitted afterwards that he was particularly frustrated by the manner in which his side conceded.
“I don’t want to speak about the first half, when we dominated the game. We created more chances to score and played well,” the Tottenham boss said.
“I don’t want to speak because my focus is on why we conceded the first goal with 10 players, just for one minute in that situation. We can stay stronger; we can communicate more and more; we can defend in a compact way.”
The Italian explained that he had adjusted his formation during Van de Ven’s absence, moving Rodrigo Bentancur into defence while Mateus Fernandes operated in midfield.
“I put [Rodrigo] Bentancur as a centre-back in that moment, in that minute, and Mateus Fernandes as a midfielder. So if we bring a red card, we can play 40 minutes, 70 minutes, 60 minutes with 10 players, what is the problem?” De Zerbi added.
He was also frustrated after Tottenham thought they had equalised through Mohammed Kudus, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
“And then, in the second half, we scored the goal with (Mohammed) Kudus offside. I don’t know if some players lost energy, but we conceded an unacceptable goal from a long goal kick, with a long ball,” he said.
De Zerbi claimed Tottenham had specifically prepared for Villa’s use of long balls, saying the team had discussed the threat extensively before the match.
“We knew before the game, because this season Aston Villa are playing 86% more long balls than last season, and we spoke in many, many meetings yesterday and two days ago,” he explained.
The defeat also reminded De Zerbi of Tottenham’s earlier loss to Newcastle, where Spurs had impressed for long periods before ultimately losing control of the match.
“And then we have to explain another game like Newcastle (United), where we played the first half well, 60 minutes OK, and then we lost,” De Zerbi said.
“For sure, it’s an aspect, it’s my responsibility, I don’t want to leave without taking my responsibility.”
However, the Tottenham manager also stressed that his players must learn to respond when the match moves away from their preferred style of possession and attacking play.
“When the game is different than ball possession, than playing in the last third, because we can’t play 90 minutes in the last third like the first half, because there is an opponent,” he continued.
“Aston Villa, it’s not so bad a team, it’s a good team, good players, and the moment when we have to defend, we have to defend compact, the leaders have to be leaders, and lead the team.”
Musa
