Gabriel Agbonlahor has blasted Tottenham Hotspur for parking ‘the biggest bus you’ll ever see’ on Tuesday night.
Spurs secured top spot in Group D with a 2-1 victory in the south of France at the Stade Velodrome.
However, Marseille certainly gave Tottenham a scare and deservedly led 1-0 at the break.
As has been the theme of late, Antonio Conte’s side fell behind, but only requiring a point to qualify, they struck back with Clement Lenglet in the second period before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg snatched the win late on.
It certainly was a frustrating opening 45 minutes for supporters, though, and speaking on TalkSport, Agbonlahor condemned the team’s approach.
He said: “First half, I thought Spurs were playing Real Madrid. It was like they were playing the best-ever Real Madrid team.
“The way they parked that double-decker bus in the first half was nothing I’ve ever seen before.
“You look at that Marseille team… These are Premier League flops, and you’re going into the game parking the biggest bus you’ll ever see for the first half – and this wasn’t even defensive, it was ultra-defensive.
“Harry Kane was probably halfway through his own half, defending.
“You can play defensive tactics and try and play on the counter-attack, but you’ve got to leave one player forward. They didn’t have anyone forward.
“Marseille are fifth in the farmer’s league and you parked that bus.
“Nine [times] in their last 12 games, they have conceded first and they won’t keep getting away with it because they are parking the bus, but they’re still conceding shots.”
TIF Thoughts on Agbonlahor’s comments…
Is there an unfair agenda against Conte's Spurs?
Yes
No
The former Aston Villa striker has been critical of Conte’s tactics already this season, labelling the football “boring”.
We feel there is no denying Spurs will ultimately be caught out if they continue playing in this manner. Marseille recorded more than double the expected goals (1.70) than the Lilywhites managed (0.68), and considering the French club had 13 shots from inside the box compared to the north Londoners’ four (SofaScore), it’s evident as to why.
Spurs only had 30% possession in the first period and had two attempts on goal from outside the area, compared to OM’s seven-shot total.
They made much more of a fist of it in the second half but we feel this method is not sustainable and will come back to bite Tottenham – especially in the knockout stages.