Ange Postecoglou highlights where Tottenham went wrong in damaging AZ defeat

Evening Standard

·6 March 2025

Ange Postecoglou highlights where Tottenham went wrong in damaging AZ defeat

Spurs must overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit to keep their season alive

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Ange Postecoglou says his Tottenham players lacked the "mindset" for a European away assignment and urged them to be more "aggressive" in next week's decider after an abject defeat at AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League last-16 first leg.

Lucas Bergvall's own goal in the 18th minute was the difference as AZ deserved earned a 1-0 lead to take to London for next Thursday's decider.

Spurs did not have a shot on target until the 88th minute and that appeared to be a mishit cross from Wilson Odobert, while Postecoglou's side had goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to thank for smart saves to deny Troy Parrott and Ernest Poku either side of half-time.

"I don’t think it’s a matter of effort or attitude, I don’t think it is going out there and not trying, but we didn’t really come to grips and have the right mindset to tackle an away fixture in Europe," Postecoglou said afterwards.

"It is always tough and we obviously conceded the goal, which was a disappointing set of events but even after that we didn’t really settle down into the game at all.

"You are going to face some pressure when you play away from home in Europe and weather the storm and get to grips with it, but we never really did so that was a disappointment.

"I don't have any doubt about our ability to break them down [next week], but obviously we have to play a little bit differently to how we did tonight, not just with the ball but without the ball too.

"We've got to be a lot more aggressive than we were tonight. We were just lacking a bit of aggression in everything we did.

"We were a little bit hesitant with the ball, hesitant in our pressing and we can't be that way. If we address those things I'm sure we'll be in a position to at least cause them more problems that we did tonight.

"It's only 1-0 so I guess that’s a positive in that we didn’t let the game get away from us.

"We didn’t really get to grips with any part of the game.

"We struggled to gain any momentum with the ball, we weren’t as aggressive as we needed to be without the ball. It was a tricky surface but having said that we kind of knew that from yesterday and we just didn’t tackle the challenges we head out there in a real positive way.

"That allowed AZ to get into a rhythm, which when you’re playing away from home, it is difficult to stem the tide."