TalkSPORT host Andy Jacobs has delivered a pessimistic verdict on Tottenham’s Champions League semi final first leg against Ajax.
Spurs made their way into the last four of Europe’s top club competition with a dramatic win over Manchester City in the quarter finals and will face off against the Dutch giants for a place in the final.
The radio pundit spoke about the challenge facing Spurs in the first leg at the London Stadium, highlighting how much of a miss Heung-min Son will be, the South Korean out through suspension.
Speaking on the Hawksbee and Jacobs show (talkSPORT, April, Thursday 25th) went on to say that Tottenham must be resolute in defence: “It’s a hard task for Spurs, 0-0 would be a good result for them, they’ve got to stop Ajax from scoring”.
Ajax will be in great condition for the game with the Eredivise suspending all fixtures for two weeks for the benefit of the Dutch giants in build up for the game.
OPINION
To say that 0-0 would be a good result in a home leg of a knockout fixture is a misjudged verdict from the talkSPORT man. If the game was away then maybe it would be a positive result for Spurs fans, although they would want at least one goal away from home. On the other had, conceding an away goal would be disappointing for Tottenham. They showed in the last leg how vital it was to not concede at home and it eventually saw them qualify for the semi finals. Ajax will offer a similar challenge on a smaller scale compared to Manchester City – they play great flowing football and have already knocked out huge opposition in Juventus and Real Madrid. With Heung-min Son suspended and Harry Kane injured for the first leg, a lead would be a great result and they will be relying heavily on Lucas Moura and Fernando Llorente. The most important part of the tie will be to take a lead to Amsterdam, for the away goal will be irrelevant if Tottenham can outscore their opponents and they should do just that.