RB Leipzig 3-0 Tottenham: 5 Talking Points | UEFA Champions League 2019-20
RasenBallsport Leipzig completed a two-legged victory over Tottenham in the Champions League, with a 4-0 aggregate scoreline recorded to progress to the quarterfinals of the competition.
In light of the devastating spread of the coronavirus, most matches have been played behind closed doors but Leipzig were allowed to have fans in the game and the Germans gave them a real treat, with a first-half brace by Marcel Sabitzer and an injury-time goal by Emile Forsberg condemning the Lilywhites to a devastating defeat.
The visitors came into the fixture on a deficit, having lost in front of their fans three weeks ago and despite being without their best players, there was still the belief that Tottenham could turn the tie around.
They, however, started the game in a disastrous fashion when they went behind just 10 minutes in, with Sabitzer shooting from 20 yards but his strike should easily have been gathered by Hugo Lloris who could only palm the ball into the bottom corner.
Eleven minutes later, the same man was at fault once more, failing to deal with Sabitzer's near-post header, although the defending was awful and with just 20 minutes gone, the game was already running away from Tottenham.
Fans would have been forgiven for thinking back to their famous comeback against Ajax in almost similar circumstances but unlike that night in Amsterdam, Spurs rarely threatened and did not at any point look like they were capable of getting anything here.
The hosts were dominant from start to finish and put the final nail in the coffin when Emile Forsberg came off the bench to score with his first touch of the game after a lightning break on the counter.
For Leipzig, the dream continues, while Spurs would have to show some marked improvements if they are to make it into this competition next season and here, we shall be highlighting five talking points from the highly entertaining fixture.
#5 Defensive frailties remain an issue for Tottenham
Since his appointment in November 2019, Jose Mourinho has overseen 26 matches as Tottenham manager and rather surprisingly, the North Londoners have kept just three clean sheets, conceding 36 goals in the process.
Given his prior reputation as a defensive specialist, it would perhaps come as a surprise to see one of his sides so defensively unorganized and their struggles at the back were laid bare in the clash with Leipzig.
They were totally at sixes-and-sevens for the entirety of the match, with Serge Aurier most culpable and the hosts sliced their defence open with relative ease time and again and could have been winners by a much larger scoreline had they pressed home their superiority.
Much has been made about the absence of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min but the bottomline is that Tottenham are not pulling their weight at the other end and the earlier they resolve their defensive susceptibility, the better for them.