PLAYER RATINGS: Fiorentina 2-0 Spurs (3-1 agg.)

Our European adventure came to a disappointing end at the hands of Serie A side Fiorentina tonight as individual errors cost a sloppy Spurs dearly.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side went into the clash at a disadvantage having conceded the away goal in last week’s 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane, but a period of early pressure saw Spurs in the driving seat for most of the first half.

The turning point came towards the end of the half when Roberto Soldado was sent clean through on the Fiorentina goal, before squandering a tap in for Nacer Chadli with a pathetically weak assist.

The Italians broke the deadlock in the second half when Mario Gomez capitalized upon Federico Fazio’s limp pass to slot past Hugo Lloris, before Jan Vertonghen had a similar moment of madness to allow Mohammed Salah in to seal the deal.

The Egyptian’s goal was the sucker punch that ended the tie and came with a hint of irony thanks to the winger’s loan from Chelsea…

Player Ratings

Hugo Lloris - 5 – Little to do for the majority of the game but was beaten easily by Mario Gomez’s low finish. Thankfully the captain made it out of the game unscathed in time for Sunday…

Vlad Chiriches - 6 – I thought he had an *alright* game at right-back considering it’s only his 2nd or 3rd game there this season, and some of his deliveries were surprisingly decent. Still a bit sketchy.

Jan Vertonghen - 5 – Bad timing for Jan who has a big test ahead of him this weekend. Absolutely gifted Salah his goal having dealt with Gomez well in the majority. Subbed early-ish and is a cert for Wembley.

Federico Fazio - 5 – A liability due to his (lack of) pace and responsibly solely for the Fiorentina first. Looks fairly likely that Eric Dier will regain his place in the side for the Cup final.

Ben Davies - 5 – Disappointing final product and was dominated by the rapid Salah. Overlapped Chadli well in the first half but couldn’t pick out a man. Rose in.

Benjamin Stambouli - 5 – Drifted in and out of the game with some moments of eyebrow-raising skill mixed in with the odd suicidal moment. The tricks are all well and good as long as they don’t hand the ball to the opposition…

Nabil Bentaleb - 6 – Was involved in a lot of good in the first half, carrying the ball out more than his midfield partner. Subbed early also, meaning the Arch surely awaits for the mature 20-year-old.

Erik Lamela - 5 – Back in Italy where he made his name (and pricetag), but again there was no final product from the Argentine. Way too lightweight for the system at the minute, and no shots at goal registered.

Christian Eriksen - 5 – Certainly not the best performance I’ve seen from the Dane, who failed to create much in front of goal. Saving himself for Sunday? I hope so. Plus two of his free-kick hit the wall…

Nacer Chadli -5 – Carried the ball to the byline as much as anybody but couldn’t unleash at goal. The goals have dried up but Nacer has to start on Sunday for me.

Roberto Soldado - 4 – I’ve said it before, but tonight might just have been the final straw for Bobby. His squandered chance for Chadli in the first half has to be seen to be believed and it didn’t get much better. Cue Capital One Cup Final hat-trick…

SUBS

Andros Townsend - 5 – Ran it into corners. Frustrating.

Harry Kane - 5 – You can tell he’s trying hard when he’s got the ball on the halfway line. But had little impact.

Kyle Walker - N/a

So it’s goodbye to the Europa League for another year, unfortunately. One of our routes into the Champions League has disappeared but whatever happens on Sunday, Chelsea’s league position makes it certain that we’ll be back in it next year at least.

Eyes were understandably trained on the famous Arch despite the action in Florence, and I have to say mine were too. Nevertheless, it’s a shame to be out of a competition that we really could have gone on to win.

Time for the nerves to kick in. See you there.

Wem-ber-leyy, Wem-ber-leyy…

 

could have gone on to win your alarm clock will go off soon you must be dreaming

 

We have a big squad, but beyond the first 11 it's very low on quality. Fazio, Soldado, Lamela and Davies were particularly awful tonight, having shown little to ever show they're good enough.

Stambouli and Chiriches weren't great but to me they've shown enough to be squad players

Vertonghen obviously made a terrible mistake for the second goal, but wasn't bad otherwise and thankfully will have a completely different defence starting around him on Sunday.

Let's hope the summer enables us to ship out some of the excess dross and bring in some players who will fit in Pochettino's system.

 

If there had been heavy betting on a 2-0 scoreline, Soldado, Fazio and Vertonghen would be helping the police with their enquiries at the present moment - which would actually be more than they helped us last night.