Thursday, March 28, 2024

Tottenham Hotspur made a huge error fielding an unfit Harry Kane in the Champions League final, says James Murray

Kane and Pochettino reflecting on Spurs’ final defeat (Evening Standard)

Spurs performed incredibly well to reach the Champions League final, following a heroic comeback victory over Ajax in Amsterdam. But the final was always going to be a difficult challenge for Mauricio Pochettino’s men against a Liverpool side that is clearly stronger and possesses an attack that could blow away any of Europe’s elite.

Recent history between the two sides was also not favourable for Spurs pre-match, having lost twice to the Reds in the Premier League earlier this season. Alongside that, the Londoners’ form was a bit hit and miss towards the back end of the campaign, although that was largely down to injuries.

Here, James Murray identifies why it was a mistake to play Harry Kane from the start in the Champions League final defeat against Liverpool.

So, why was it a mistake to start Kane?

It was pretty clear Kane wasn’t remotely fit, and in a Champions League final, you simply can’t be taking risks on individuals. There is no doubt the England captain is a fantastic player and is at the heart of Spurs’ offensive play, but when a player isn’t at the peak of his powers, it’s too big of a risk to take in the biggest game in the club’s history.

They also may not have made the final had the striker been fit, anyway. He went off injured in the first-leg against Manchester City, with the score at 0-0. As soon as Kane went off, Son refound his form and scored the only goal of the game, edging his side into a first-leg lead. Then, the South Korean international scored two goals at the Etihad with his fellow forward once again missing from the side. Son clearly excels when Kane isn’t around.

Then you have Lucas. Poor old Lucas. He literally carried Tottenham to the Champions League final, after they had been poor for the best part of a game-and-a-half against Ajax. The tricky winger scored a hat-trick before being dropped for Kane in the final. That simply does not happen. Lucas deserved to be in that final more than Kane and the Brazilian would’ve been full of confidence following that famous victory in Amsterdam.

On top of that, Virgil Van Dijk and his defensive partner Joel Matip, were probably rubbing their hands together when they saw Kane was in the lineup. They had an easy night on the whole against the big centre forward, as opposed to having to deal with the pace of Lucas. Although Matip can be a weak defender at times, he deals well with balls in the air and can do a decent job against slower forwards, like a half-fit Kane.

At one-nil down with twenty minutes to play, had Spurs had the option to throw Kane on, that could’ve been profitable for them. But they didn’t have that option, they instead had a likely disgruntled Lucas, who deserved to start the game. Kane had just 26 touches in the game (11 in the first half), made 11 passes and had one shot at goal, compared to the two Lucas had after he entered the field. That speaks volumes.

Conclusion

It would’ve no doubt been a difficult decision for Pochettino to leave out his best player. But when you analyse the situation closely, looking at Kane’s injury and the form of Lucas, it should’ve been a straightforward choice. It could be a long time before Spurs ever play a game of this magnitude again, and playing Kane from the off was potentially a huge factor behind the North Londoners suffering heartache in Madrid.

Sports journalism masters graduate from the Real Madrid Graduate School. I have covered various different sports over a number of years - particularly football - and my personal work is displayed on this site.

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