Tottenham Hotspur will now need to win in their Europa League last-16 second leg against AZ in order to stay in the competition.
Spurs fell to a 1-0 defeat in Thursday’s first leg at the AFAS Stadion, with Lucas Bergvall’s unfortunate own goal proving the difference.
In the 18th minute, a corner kick was swung in deep, and former Tottenham forward Troy Parrott flicked it back towards goal.
Bergvall attempted to clear, but connected poorly and ended up miskicking the ball into the back of his own net.
Tottenham couldn’t recover from this setback, going on to register just one effort on target all game as Bergvall appeared apologetic after the match.
However, Glenn Hoddle believes Spurs will be “happy” going into the second leg, and explained why.
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Glenn Hoddle thinks Tottenham will be happy with only being 1-0 down
Hoddle, speaking on TNT Sports after the game, believes a 1-0 loss for Tottenham is a “better result” for them than it is for AZ.
The Spurs legend thinks Ange Postecoglou’s side will be “happy” with only being a goal down in the tie despite playing so poorly.
“They were lacklustre in their performance,” said Hoddle. “But that’s a better result for Tottenham than it is for AZ.
“To play so mediocre and come home with just a one-goal deficit, they’ll be happy with that. Not the performance, but the result.”
What Ange Postecoglou said about Tottenham result
Postecoglou admitted after the game that the relatively light loss is probably “the best thing” about what happened to Tottenham on the night.
“It wasn’t good, not a great result,” he began, as per the Tottenham website.
“Actually the result was probably the best thing out of it in that we’re still very much in the tie.
“We were nowhere near the level we needed to be, a disappointing night overall.”
Tottenham are next in action this Sunday when they host Bournemouth in a 2pm GMT kick-off in the Premier League.
Spurs then play the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie against AZ on Thursday 13 March (8pm kick-off) at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
