Tottenham Hotspur lost against Red Bull Leipzig at home, 0-1, in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16. Meanwhile, Atalanta destroyed Valencia in Italy, posting a 4-1 triumph.
Even though Spurs lost, Jose Mourinho was not disappointed with the way his team played last night in London. The guests from Germany controlled the match up until the moment when they scored, but after that, it was the host who pressured the rival.
The only goal in this contest came from the penalty, which Timo Werner converted. Ben Davies previously made a reckless tackle on one of the Red Bull’s players, which was a reason for the referee to show towards the white spot.
And as we said, the guests were far better up until that 56th minute. They struck the post after 120 seconds of play and had numerous other chances to score. Luckily for the hosts, they had Hugo Lloris in front of the net. The French goalkeeper was superb, and by far the best player among the Spurs. In fact, according to most of the reporters, Lloris was the man of the match as he single-handedly saved at least some chances for Tottenham to advance to the next stage.
Mourinho talked about that following the game, saying that nothing is over.
“It is not 10-0. The result is open. It is as simple as that. We wouldn’t be first team to lose 1-0 at home and to win the tie away. Why shouldn’t we do it?” the Special One asked the reporters.
This was the first win in the knockout stage of the Champions League for Red Bull Leipzig.
On the other side of Europe, to be more precise in Milan, Atalanta destroyed Valencia with 4-1. The hosts played at San Siro, as their Atleti Azzurri stadium is under reconstruction. And it turned out to be even better as more than 55,000 spectators from Bergamo came to support them. Their stadium accepts just 22,000 spectators, and if Gian Piero Gasperini’s side continues to play like this, the board will have to build a bigger home for this club.
Atalanta demolished the guests from Spain in each and every aspect of play, posting one of the best performances in their history. Valencia is known as a very unpleasant crew, who knows how to restrain even the best teams on the continent, which they’ve shown on multiple occasions this year.
However, last night the Bats were humiliated. Hans Hateboer netted twice, while Jospi Ilcic and Remo Freuler added one goal each. On the other side, Denis Cheryshev delivered the only hit for Valencia.
“Atalanta are no longer a surprise, we’ve proved so many times that we don’t give in. We’re doing some really important things here,” said Ilicic.
The first week of Champions League football is over. Up next, we have four more games. One of them stands above, and that is the clash between Real Madrid and Manchester City. Also, the fans will have a chance to see Napoli facing Barcelona, Lyon vs. Juventus and Bayern Munich traveling to London to meet Chelsea.
