He played on home field, Tottenham runner-up lost to Leipzig 0-1 in the first round of 1/8 Champions League on February 19.

The only goal came in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Left-back Ben Davies made a mistake, before illegally stopping Konrad Laimer in the penalty area. Referee Cuneyt Cakir immediately pointed to the 11m mark. VAR team agrees with this decision. In a series of brainstorming matches, Timo Werner finished exactly, bringing the victory for Leipzig right on the pitch of Tottenham.

The goal is a reward for what Leipzig has been offering since the beginning of the match. They entered the game better, having four finishes in the first 10 minutes, in which a ball hit the post after leaving Angelino’s leg. “Rooster” kicks hard, to block the excitement of the visitors but failed. Hugo Lloris constantly worked, and repeatedly denied the efforts of Werner striker – Patrik Schick. However, until the challenge on the 11m mark, the Tottenham captain gave up.

After taking the advantage, Leipzig dropped the squad to low to preserve the gap. They accepted to give the game to the home team and only had two more finishes in the remaining 30 minutes. Jose Mourinho’s army is on the rise, but mostly relying on fixed situations to turn things around. Their best chance came in the 72nd minute, when Giovani Lo Celso took a beautiful free kick from about 25m. Goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi gently touched the ball, sending it to the post.

Lacking both the best strikers, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, Jose Mourinho arranged a 4-4-2 layout, with the main strikers Dele Alli and Lucas Moura. Last season, Moura excelled in this position, culminating in a hat-trick against Ajax in the semi-final second leg, helping Tottenham win backwards. The intention of the “Special One” is to use fast, direct counter-attacks, when Leipzig accrues, in order to maximize the speed of Moura.

The performance in the first half was exactly as Mourinho predicted. Leipzig, with full of mighty soldiers, actively controlled the ball with three central midfielders. Tottenham avoided confrontation in the middle and always sought to develop the ball to the front lines as quickly as possible.

Losing 0-1, Tottenham has much work to do in the second leg after three weeks. In the last few seasons, the upstream in the Champions League knockout stages, after losing the first leg, is not uncommon. It was the “Rooster” fans who tasted that feeling last season, when Mauricio Pochettino’s teachers and students eliminated Ajax in the semi-finals.