Tottenham news: 'Of course we still believe we can win the Champions League,' says Trippier
What's the story?
Tottenham Hotspur defender Kieran Trippier has expressed his disappointment following his side's loss to Ajax in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final fixture on Tuesday night. However, he also stated that the squad still believe they can win the competition.
In case you didn't know...
Ajax earned a crucial first-leg advantage after inflicting a 1-0 loss on Spurs at the all-new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last night. The match-winner came early courtesy of intricate passes that led to a Donny van de Beek goal.
The hosts were without their star attackers Son Heung-min and Harry Kane and struggled to find an equaliser, leaving them with a huge task in the second leg.
The heart of the matter
While acknowledging that his team could've done better early in the game, Trippier expressed belief in Spurs' ability to fight back and showcase the spirit that helped them upset City in the previous round.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said, "It was a difficult first 20, 25 minutes. We just couldn't close them down as we like to, the pressing that we do week in, week out."
"I thought we gradually got into the game and kept on pushing. We did everything to try and equalise in the second half. It's only 1-0, we go to their place next week and hopefully we can get a performance."
"Obviously Sonny (Son Heung-min) and H (Harry Kane) are massive players for us, especially with the attacking outlet that they've got – Sonny running in behind and Harry's goals, but we always believe as a team that the players coming in can step up."
The defender added, "Of course we still believe we can win the Champions League, we all believe, we have belief in the squad. Next Wednesday we'll go there with nothing to lose and try to score as many goals as we can like we did at Man City. Anything can happen."
What's next?
Spurs have a mammoth task at hand but will hope to overcome their Dutch opponents when they face them in the second leg at the Johan Cruyff Arena on May 8.