Tottenham Hotspur: 6 Things We Learned from Tottenham's Europa League Debut

After an impressive fifth-place finish in the English Premier League last season, Tottenham earned a spot in the UEFA Europa League.

The Europa League will always play second-fiddle to the UEFA Champions League, but with so many great teams in Europe (Dynamo Kyiv, Villareal and FC Porto were in last year's competition), the Europa League still provides a competitive experience for players and gives a financial boost to the clubs.

This year, Tottenham are in a group with FC Rubin Kazan from Russia, Shamrock Rovers from Ireland and PAOK FC from Greece.

But in the group's opening round, Tottenham drew 0-0 with PAOK FC. So what can be taken away from Tottenham's first match in the Europa League?

Spurs Still Can't Score Goals

Tottenham started slowly in their debut Europa League match against PAOK and finished even slower. The team got two shots on target in the first 20 minutes, and then every shot after that either hit the crossbar or went harmlessly wide.

In three Premier League matches, Tottenham has scored three goals. Not a bad number, but lower than what they had hoped after signing Emmanuel Adebayor from Manchester City.

It's true that manager Harry Redknapp opted for a much younger, much less experienced squad for his first Europa League contest, but two shots on goal and only a few attacking possessions is something fans didn't expect.

Tottenham's Youngsters Need More Experience

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp assembled a starting lineup on Thursday that had an average age of 23. He's been accused of taking the Europa League too lightly, an accusation he's dismissed, but there's no denying that Redknapp is using this tournament to try out youngsters that don't get much experience in the Premier League.

Harry Kane and Andros Townsend, who haven't started in the Premier League, were starters, as were Giovanni Dos Santos (who hasn't been in the starting lineup in 12 months) and 19 year-old Thomas Carroll.

The young players were greeted by a deafening and intimidating roar as they warmed up and the Greek crowd only got louder as the match went on. The young roster put together a lackluster offensive performance that saw only a handful of attacks and two shots on goal.

If Tottenham is to improve in the Europa League, they're going to need to get more game experience for their young players and help them learn to keep their focus in a hostile environment.

Tottenham Is Not Afraid of Playing Physically

It's true that Tottenham's first yellow card came because of the referee's suspicion that Spurs forward Harry Kane was diving. But PAOK showed from the opening whistle that they were going to host a very physical match in Thessaloniki and it was Tottenham that matched them every step of the way.

The first was Kane's, which came because of the physical style both teams were playing.

The second yellow card came in the 31st minute when goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini rushed out to stop PAOK forward Stefanos Athanasiadis from making a clean shot. Cudicini may have been booked, but his aggressive play may have saved the match for Tottenham.

The third yellow card was earned in the 75th minute when defender Vedran Corluka threw his body into a PAOK attacker, keeping the scoreline empty.

The fourth yellow card occurred just minutes later when Thomas Carroll, a midfielder on the reserve team, did the same.

The fifth and final yellow card for Tottenham came in extra time of the second half, when midfielder Giovani Dos Santos made a physical break on the ball. Dos Santos was making his first start in 12 months for the Spurs, and his sometimes shoddy play in the midfield could be attributed to that.

Carlo Cudicini Will Play Aggressively in Goal

Some were surprised when they saw Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes sitting on the bench and Carlo Cudicini in front of the net, but none left unimpressed after Cudicini held PAOK scoreless at home. 

Cudicini was called on several times to make a stand in front of his goal. He showed poise in stopping the four shots that PAOK fired on goal, but it was his aggressive play in the penalty box that earned him the clean sheet (and a yellow card).

Just 31 minutes into the match, Cudicini rushed out to bring down PAOK forward Stefanos Athanasiadis as he rushed forward in an attack.

Then, just minutes into the second half, PAOK was making an offensive push on the right side of goal. Cudicini came a few yards outside of the penalty box to disrupt the attack and then rushed back to net only to see a shot by PAOK forward Dimitrios Salpigidis go harmlessly wide of the net.

Cudicini's stop in extra time of the second half salvaged a point for visiting Tottenham and gave them confidence going into their next match against Ireland's Shamrock Rovers (as if they really needed it).

If there's one thing that fans can take away from their 0-0 draw with PAOK it's that Carlo Cudicini is on the top of his game in this tournament.

Tottenham Finishes Matches Slowly

In the first half of the match Tottenham was strong defensively, only allowing a couple of attacks and four shots (none of which were on target).

The second half was a completely different story. As yellow cards piled up and physical play started to fade, PAOK found chances to shoot eight times on goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini, four of which were on target.

This isn't new for Spurs, as all but two of the 10 goals the team has conceded have come in the second half. Three of them have come in final five minutes of games.

If Tottenham is going to have any success in the Europa League, they need to have strong finishes, especially considering much of the match is going to be spent figuring out squads they rarely, if ever, play.

Spurs Are Ready for Ireland's Shamrock Rovers

Shamrock Rovers surprised everyone this spring and earned their way into the Europa League group stage. Some were saying they could have at least moderate success. Scoring a couple of goals or maybe capturing a draw with a club outside of Ireland could be viewed as a stepping stone for the club from the Emerald Isle.

But after their crushing 3-0 loss to Russian champions Rubin Kazan, look for Tottenham to get back to its winning ways, opening up a very wide attack against the Irish team and giving fans the goals they've sorely been missing this season.