LONDON – After weeks of attritional football that had a section of Tottenham Hotspur fans longing for the cavalier approach seen in the early days of Ange Postecoglou’s reign, Thomas Frank’s side turned to their style on Tuesday to beat Copenhagen 4-0 in north London.
Despite their objectively positive start to the season, discontent has been brewing in the N17 squad as they demand the free-flowing, attacking football that the club has always valued.
Last weekend’s 1-0 friendly defeat to Chelsea marked their fourth home game in a row without a win and only compounded the frustration. In fact, the conversation leading up to this one was about Micky van de Ven and Jed Spence’s apparent disdain for Frank in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s defeat and whether that was a sign of frustration within the camp.
So, what is the best time for Tottenham to play their next match against FC Copenhagen? The Danish side have never beaten an English team away from home in any competition, and have managed just two wins from their last 21 away matches in the Champions League.
However, Tottenham fully deserved the big win as stars who have been much maligned in recent weeks came to the fore in an attacking second-half binge that lifted the mood in north London.
Even Brennan Johnson’s unfortunate red card and Richarlison’s missed penalty did not dampen the festive atmosphere at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The result left Tottenham unbeaten in their first four matches in the league stage and looking well placed for a place in the knockout stage.
Spurs’ attacking intent was rewarded with a blitz on goal
After picking up just 0.05 points against Chelsea – the lowest in Tottenham’s recorded history – Thomas Frank will know that putting in a cohesive attacking display in this match was just as important as the result.
Tottenham fans’ insistence on attacking football is perhaps unparalleled in England. This does not mean that they do not appreciate the individual battle for an outcome, but once it becomes a pattern, they will express their dissatisfaction.
Weeks of mediocre performances reached an all-time low after Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea. If Frank needed a sign that putting in a cohesive attacking display in this game is as important as the result, he need only look at the array of empty seats around the ground in an interesting enough Champions League fixture.
Tottenham were keen to prove that fans’ fears had been answered against Copenhagen, as more complex attacking combinations and a much-improved high pressing had the visitors on the defensive from the start.
A moment of real quality from Simons pushed Spurs ahead before Zinedine Zidane’s first touch from Kolo Mwani set up Wilson Odubert to double Spurs’ lead after half-time.
Having been served such thin porridge in recent weeks, Spurs fans were then able to enjoy a truly special individual effort from Van de Ven and a quick fourth from substitute Joao Balenha as all of Frank’s prayers were answered.
– Premier League “Big Six” rankings
– Frank Tottenham: Van de Ven and Spence said they were sorry for the disrespect
– Champions League schedule
Simmons and Kolo Mwani are making their mark
Simmons and Kolo Mwani have endured a difficult start to their Tottenham careers after moving to north London just three days apart at the end of the transfer window.
Simons arrived knowing that Spurs were initially hoping to sign Morgan Gibbs-White or Eberechi Eze as a creative spark, but after switching to the highly-pedigree Dutchman, many expected Frank to end up with the best of the three.
But Simons’ struggles to adapt to the physical nature of modern English football has left him looking like a third option in the opening weeks of his Spurs career.
He was not alone in looking at his depth in the defeat to Chelsea last weekend, but he was alone in suffering the ignominy of coming off the bench, despite being brought on in the seventh minute after Lukas Bergvall suffered concussion.
His perfectly weighted through ball in Johnson’s opener helped relieve the tension that had been building in the wake of four successive home losses.
Simons should have had another assist after a devilish challenge on Wilson Odubert but Kolo Mwani headed wide of the near post. Having missed a free header that would have sent Spurs through to half-time just minutes later, the Frenchman will be wondering how he has not yet been clear of the goal for his new team.
But Kolo Mwani had his moment in the sun when he chased down goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski’s attempted clearance and easily killed the ball as it fell, allowing him to lay down Odubert to slot home an easy shot in the 51st minute.
Van de Ven says sorry in style
For Tottenham fans, there is perhaps no more exciting sight than watching Van de Ven roar across the pitch in full flight to deny an opposition striker.
It turned out the only thing better was watching him slot the ball home after a nearly 100-yard tilt towards the South Stand. It was a goal instantly reminiscent of Son Heung-min’s Puskas Award-winning goal against Burnley in 2019.
In that match, Jan Vertonghen played a simple five-yard pass to Son deep in Tottenham’s half before the South Korean crossed Burnley and slotted the ball over the goalkeeper.
Five years and 11 months since Son’s goal went down in Spurs history, here it is again – this time with the usual Van de Ven touch.
Gone are Son’s quick sounds as he weaves his way through defenders, replaced here by the long strides of the frantic centre-back.
Aside from cutting short to the left to evade the challenges of two charging defenders, Van de Ven ran a straight line from area to area before finishing off with a satisfying shot into the bottom corner.
He pulled off the feat just days after apologizing to Frank for refusing to join his manager and teammates for an appreciation tour for the home fans on Saturday, mending all lingering tensions between the centre-back and the Tottenham faithful.
Key statistics
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Brennan Johnson became the first British player to be sent off and score in a Champions League match
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Johnson snapped a run of 10 consecutive scoreless matches for club and country. Tuesday’s goal was his second in the last 16 games. The 10-game stretch was his longest drought since the 16-game stretch from April-September 2024.
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The 4-0 win was Tottenham’s second-largest margin of victory in the Champions League.
Information from ESPN’s Global Sports Research contributed to this story
