Monaco vs. Tottenham Hotspur: Score, Reaction from 2016 Champions League Match
Monaco dismantled Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night, as the Premier League side exited the continent's top club competition after a 2-1 defeat in Group E in France.
Goals from Djibril Sidibe and Thomas Lemar were enough for the Ligue 1 outfit, who outclassed Spurs in every part of the pitch in a comprehensive display.
Spurs showed little resolve, as the French tore through their defence, only saved by the brilliance of Hugo Lloris on countless occasions.
Radamel Falcao led the Monaco attack, partnering Valere Germain with flair provided by the impressive Benjamin Mendy.
Harry Winks started for Spurs for the first time in the Champions League after scoring in his Premier League debut against West Ham United.
Monaco were fastest out of the blocks, and the English club were tormented as Mendy's trickery caused immense problems.
The hosts almost drew first blood, as Fabinho was brought down by Eric Dier in the box for a certain penalty. Falcao stepped up to take the responsibility of the spot kick, but Lloris was equal to the shot, as he pushed the effort away to his right.
ESPN FC's Dan Kilpatrick called the action:
BT Sport Football provided footage of the vital moment:
Spurs struggled throughout the first half, as Falcao and Mendy streamed forward at every opportunity.
The visitors' defence was pegged back, rarely making a decisive move forward, but Tottenham should have equalised after Son Heung-min burst through the middle.
The attacker was left one-on-one with Monaco stopper Danijel Subasic, but the Croatian did just enough as the South Korea star attempted to go around him, but to no avail.
Tottenham appeared nervous and fatigued as the first half progressed towards the half-time interval, but the game remained goalless, despite consistent pressure from the Ligue 1 team.
Yahoo Sport UK writer Andrew Gaffney ripped into the Lillywhites:
WhoScored.com provided the player and match stats at half-time:
The hosts deservedly attained the lead after a couple of minutes of the second half, as Mendy found Sidibe unmarked in the box. The full-back's run wasn't tracked by the poor Spurs defence, and he headed home to the cheers of the Monaco supporters.
Tottenham were handed a lifeline just four minutes later, as Dele Alli was pulled back in the box by Kamil Glik, giving the visitors a penalty.
Harry Kane made sure he was more clinical than Falcao, and he riffled his effort in the net.
Mauricio Pochettino's celebrations were cut short 38 seconds later, as the Tottenham defence once again combusted, allowing Lemar to smash his effort past Lloris from a tight angle.
The English team were having one of their worst defensive nights for many months, and Monaco made sure they forced Spurs to pay for their slack performance.
The French were proving their credentials as an attacking unit, and Spurs looked jaded and out of ideas.
Gaffney once again expressed his disdain at Spurs' effort in the south of France:
Lloris made a world-class save from Glik to deny Monaco a third goal on the night, and Spurs simply were not coping with the task at hand as they battled for a Champions League lifeline.
Bleacher Report UK was impressed by the French goalkeeper's heroics for the north London outfit:
Lloris continued to cover himself in glory, as he denied Falcao once again, as the Colombian superstar broke the offside trap. Spurs were a sorry version of the side usually seen during domestic performances of the past 12 months.
The France international stopper kept Spurs interested, and Kane and Alli both went close in the final minutes of the game as they hunted an equaliser against all odds.
However, Monaco bossed the game from start to finish and were clearly the better side at the final whistle.
Mendy was exceptional on the night as the hosts were rampant, but Pochettino's team was not at the races, or anywhere near their usual quality.
Post-Match Reaction
Pochettino was in a reflective mood after he witnessed his side crash out of the Champions League, but he said he already has one eye on the future, as quoted by George Scott of the Daily Star:
"Maybe we did not show enough quality in five games to be competitive in the Premier League, and be unbeaten like we are, and also compete in the Champions League.
It is good for us to learn - next season if we are in the Champions League maybe we need to make some changes.
It was a good challenge for us to compete and show our real level. That is always important.
After two-and-a-half years we have closed the gap at the top of the Premier League and that was the objective.
But to be competitive in the Champions League we need to show more and add more quality into our squad.
We feel bad now, maybe disappointed, but tomorrow is another day and we need to compete against Chelsea on Saturday.
"
Monaco qualify as Group E winners, as Bayer Leverkusen take the second-qualifying spot to reach the last-16.
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