Tottenham prepared for their Capital One Cup final clash with Chelsea in the worst possible fashion last night, crashing out of the Europa League after a 2-0 defeat to Fiorentina in Florence.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men went into the tie level at 1-1 following last week’s first leg at White Hart Lane, and in a decent period of form.
But Tottenham capped what has been a miserable week for British club’s in Europe, by joining Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Celtic in falling to defeat.
Tottenham must now try and pick themselves up for Sunday’s showdown at Wembley, and the opportunity to win their first piece of silverware in eight years.
But they will have to improve on last night’s display, in which at times they were very much the creators of their own downfall.
Here are five reasons as to why Pochettino’s men crashed out of Europe last night.
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Click on Mauricio Pochettino to reveal 5 reasons why Tottenham got knocked out the Europa League
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Roberto Soldado
The Spaniard has endured a torrid time since moving to England, but last night represented perhaps his lowest moment in a Tottenham shirt.
With the game at 0-0, Soldado was sent clean through on goal with Nacer Chadli in alongside him. Having buried a chance successfully in the return leg, you would have thought the former Valencia man would have had the confidence to take this chance himself.
Instead he opted to square it to Chadli for a tap in – and woefully underhit his pass into the grateful arms of the goalkeeper.
Simply awful, and a definite turning point in the game.
The decision to rest Harry Kane
Tottenham have relied heavily on the England under-21 striker this term, with Kane firing 24 goals in all competitions.
It is understandable that Pochettino opted to rest him last night ahead of Sunday’s Wembley showpiece, but the miss from Soldado further underlined Kane’s importance to Tottenham.
In his absence, Soldado and Adebayor represent a major step down in quality at this moment in time.
It was always going to be a struggle for Tottenham to progress in this tournament without their main man leading the line.
Jan Vertonghen’s defending
A trip to Fiorentina is difficult enough without shocking defensive errors. Jan Vertonghen was another Tottenham star who had a night to forget in Florence, showing a worrying lack of leadership at centre back, and gifting former Chelsea winger Mohamed Salah the game’s second goal by hesitating to clear in the box.
Vertonghen has been one of Tottenham’s better defenders in recent weeks after a slow start to the season, but last night’s performance will rank as one of his worst in a Spurs shirt.
The performance of Mohamed Salah
Chelsea fans will be wondering why Mohamed Salah could not produce this type of display more often during his spell at Stamford Bridge.
Some reckon the 22-year-old was not given a fair opportunity to show what he can do in west London, and spent last night proving his doubters in English football wrong with a performance that terrorised the Tottenham defence.
Salah scored the second goal to all but confirm Fiorentina’s place in the last 16, whilst his pace was a constant threat all evening.
Tottenham simply could not deal with the Egyptian, and in the end paid the ultimate price.
One eye on Sunday?
If you had asked any Tottenham fan prior to kick off whether they would have sacrificed a win on Sunday for a place in the last 16 of the Europa League, the answer would have been a resounding no.
That mentality would have certainly filtered down to the players and management, with Sunday’s Wembley showpiece very much the priority.
The players know they have the ideal opportunity to bounce back quickly, and ensure this disappointing evening in Florence is quickly forgotten.
