Tottenham were ‘very sloppy’ against Rangers and ‘got away with one’ after snatching a draw, claims Peter Crouch – as ex-Spurs star reveals what’s holding back Ange Postecoglou’s side
Former Tottenham star Peter Crouch negatively rated the team’s performance in the 1-1 draw against Rangers on Thursday evening.
Ange Postecoglou’s side traveled to Glasgow for their sixth Europa League match, with Hamza Igamane opening the scoring before Dejan Kulusevski equalised.
In the first half, Spurs’ performance left a lot to be desired. They were second on everything and failed to create any real danger for Rangers keeper Jack Butland.
Postecoglou made a substitution during half-time, but that could not prevent Spurs from conceding a goal just two minutes after half-time.
Substitute Kulusevski later equalized to rescue a point for the North London side, but his goal still couldn’t plug the gaps in their overall performance.
Ex-Spurs star Crouch said after the match on TNT Sports: ‘I think they got away with one. Rangers were fantastic, and if they had won it it would have been a travesty.
Tottenham drew 1-1 against Rangers in their Europa League match on Thursday
Ex-Spurs star Peter Crouch insisted Spurs were ‘very sloppy’ against the Scottish side
“First half it was all Rangers, I think the substitutions helped, the rested players, Solanke, Kulusevski, Sarr, Bergvall, they made the difference.”
‘I could hear them [the fans] at the end of the game they didn’t sound very satisfied to me. It was disappointing. Like Rangers, I felt there was a lot more quality in the Spurs squad, but they haven’t proven that.
“Spurs were very sloppy and I think that might be a lack of confidence. The confident players showed Kulusevski, Maddison on the ball, Solanke when he came on.
“I thought with Archie Gray coming through that, everyone else will benefit from it. Fraser Forster has done a fantastic job, there are positives, but the negatives outweigh the negatives.”
The result at Ibrox means Postecoglou’s side have failed to win their last five games in all competitions.
Like Crouch, Spurs star Kulusevski urged his Tottenham teammates to do ‘a little bit more’ to help the club get back to winning ways.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have failed to win in any of their last five matches in all competitions
‘I think Rangers played very well. We struggled a bit and in the end it was 1-1, it is what it is. We didn’t play well enough to win the match,” Kulusevski told TNT Sports.
‘Rangers played a perfect match, with the stadium, it’s a beautiful stadium, the fans helped them a lot and we missed a little bit in the first half. The second half was a little better, but we move on to Sunday.
Kulusevski was one of a number of changes made by Ange Postecoglou in the second half, leading to a backlash after Rangers drew first blood shortly after half-time.
On his introduction to the game, Kulusevski said his manager urged him to “change something.”