Will Lankshear sees Tottenham dream turn to nightmare as wretched Spurs dealt night to forget | OneFootball

Ange Postecoglou’s side thrashed for much of the evening - before changes almost turn things around

Tottenham’s 100 percent record in the Europa League was ended with a 3-2 defeat by Galatasaray in Istanbul, featuring a red card for the visitors' goalscorer Will Lankshear.

Lankshear was shown a second yellow card on the hour but the hosts tired, and substitute Dominic Solanke set up a nervy finale with a great finish.

Standard Sport runs through three talking points from the dramatic game.

Wretched Spurs can quickly forget an off night

This was probably as loose a performance as Spurs have produced under Ange Postecoglou and they were, frankly, fortunate not to lose by six or seven goals to a Galatasaray side who were rampant for 70 minutes before dropping off.

Osimhen alone had enough chances to score at least five times, while both he and Mauro Icardi both had efforts ruled out for straying offside.

In one sense, it was an occasion to fuel Postecoglou’s critics, when all of the head coach’s ‘non-negotiables’, notably his demand that Spurs play out from the back, looked like weaknesses.

Glenn Hoddle, on co-comms for TNT Sports, repeatedly criticised his former club's high-risk approach, to the point where he sounded like a broken record.

And yet, a patched-up Spurs side, who played the final half-an-hour with ten men, showed character and could easily have nicked a draw after a late rally, while they remain in a strong position in the Europa League following wins in their first three matches.

Losing any game, particularly so sloppily, will concern Postecoglou but the upshot of the revamped European calendar is that clubs can afford nights like this one.

Spurs are still probably one win away from guaranteeing a play-off spot at least, and they are only halfway through their group stage, with four more games to play.

Given the sheer number of injury absences, Postecoglou can reflect that this was an understandable blip from his young squad and quickly put it to one side, with Ipswich the visitors to north London on Sunday.

Spurs fringe players struggle in cauldron atmosphere

Spurs finished the game looking the more likely to score but their surprising 10-man rally came after Postecoglou called for a string of big-hitters from the bench.

Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski were introduced for Brennan Johnson and Heung-min Son at the interval, with Spurs’ only fit wingers being saved for Sunday, while Pape Matar Sarr and Dominic Solanke also impressed as substitutes.

Spurs were caught out time and time again in Istanbul

REUTERS

Several of Spurs’ starters, though, were hugely underwhelming, notably Radu Dragusin and Lucas Bergavll, neither of whom suggested they are close to pushing for a place in Postecoglou’s best XI.

Dragusin was caught out for Osimhen’s first goal on another difficult European night for the Romanian, who was part of a wide-open defence which gave up chance after chance.

Bergvall, meanwhile, looked lost in the midfield, repeatedly giving away possession in the first half – though he was far from alone in this respect.

You wondered if the pair particularly struggled with the ferocious atmosphere in Istanbul or whether they are simply struggling to established a rhythm given their lack of consistent game-time this season.

Whatever the case, Postecoglou’s fringe players struggled, albeit in difficult circumstances, as Spurs’ squad began to feel the strain of absent stars and the heavy schedule.

Will Lankshear’s dreams turns to a nightmare

For Lankshear, a night which began with a dream goal – his first in senior football – ended with a harsh lesson after he was dismissed on the hour for a second bookable offence.

The 19-year-old forward, who made his full debut against Ferencvaros in this competition last month, had the simplest of finishes after Johnson unselfishly squared from Archie Gray’s outstanding diagonal.

He had a further chance in the second half, swivelling in the box before sending a low shot too close to the goalkeeper, but soon after he was guilty of a moment of naivety.

After being bundled over in possession, Lankshear chased down Gabriel Sara and hacked at the Brazilian’s ankles near the touchline, leaving the referee with a relatively easy call.

Spurs actually improved after the sending off, but they might have had more chance of a smash-and-grab equaliser with 11 men on the pitch.

Perhaps most frustratingly for Lankshear, he will now be suspended for the home game against AS Roma at the end of the month, denying him the chance to build on his goal.