BBC journalist shares what he spotted from Lucas Bergvall after he came off and sat on Spurs bench tonight
The Spurs midfielder was forced to make way early on in the game.
Tottenham Hotspur got their Europa League campaign under way with a meeting against Qarabag FK on Thursday night.
In what is becoming a bit of a running theme for Spurs, they began the game – delayed due to severe travel disruption – with a major setback before going on to win.
Tottenham didn’t concede first this time, but they did find themselves a man down before the clock went into double figures.
In the seventh minute, Radu Dragusin received a pass on the halfway line and let the ball run across his body, allowing Juninho to nip in and take the ball.
The Spurs defender, who was the last man, hauled the Qarabag forward down, leaving the referee with no choice but to show him a red card.
Ange Postecoglou was forced to make a change to shore up the defence, and Lucas Bergvall was the unfortunate player who had to make way.
BBC Sport journalist Nizaar Kinsella shared what he noticed from Bergvall as he came off and when he sat on the Tottenham bench thereafter.
Lucas Bergvall ‘devastated’ by early Tottenham substitution
Kinsella noted how “devastated” the 18-year-old looked, and also how he had his hood up and coat zipped fully up, not to mention the disappointment in his eyes.
“Lucas Bergvall, 18, knows that starts for are going to be few and far between in his early Tottenham career,” Kinsella said, as per the BBC Sport website.
“You could see that he was devastated to be substituted in the 12th minute as manager Ange Postecoglou brought on Destiny Udogie to shore up his defence after Radu Dragusin’s seventh minute red card.
“The camera has just panned to the exciting Swedish midfielder who joined from Djurgardens in the summer and he had his hood up and coat zipped up to his mouth.
“His eyes told the story of his disappointment but there will be many more chances to come.”
Tottenham get over the line against Qarabag
It wasn’t a straightforward night for Spurs in the end, and while they won 3-0 against the champions of Azerbaijan, the scoreline didn’t really reflect the performance.
Brennan Johnson opened the scoring in the 13th minute when he slotted the ball across the goalkeeper and into the bottom-left corner after good work from Dominic Solanke.
Pape Matar Sarr then doubled Tottenham’s lead in the 52nd minute, side-footing in at the back post after Dejan Kulusevski’s corner wasn’t properly cleared.
Solanke went on to make it two in two for Spurs as he tucked home in the 68th minutes after Mateusz Kochalski parried a shot into his path.
However, Qarabag made Tottenham work for their win, often looking likely to score and missing a penalty when on top.
Nevertheless, Spurs got the job done – clean sheet and all – and can now focus on Sunday’s Premier League meeting with Manchester United.
What's Your Reaction?
