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Tottenham crash out of the Europa League to Gent - Five talking points from Wembley

1. Mauricio Pochettino picks his best available team – but at what cost?

Spurs’ manager had picked surprisingly strong line-ups in the two previous cup games against Gent and Fulham.

And, although the Lilywhites are back in Premier League action with a home game against Stoke on Sunday, he again gave his side the best possible chance of progressing through this Europa League last-32 tie this evening, picking the best 11 players available to him.

Ben Davies stood in for the injured Danny Rose at left-back but otherwise this was Tottenham at their strongest – proof, if it was still needed, of their desire to win a trophy and not just focus on their top-four fight.

When Christian Eriksen fired the hosts into a 10th-minute lead it seemed Pochettino’s ambitious selection was going to be rewarded again, and the Lilywhites were going to go on and win the game and extend their European adventure.

But, after exiting the competition with a 3-2 defeat on aggregate and playing for 50 minutes with 10 men, the question now is what the cost will be when Sunday comes.

2. Spurs return to a 3-4-2-1 formation – and it could work well at Wembley in future

Tottenham had great success using three central defenders and wing-backs at the turn of the year, beating Watford, Chelsea and West Bromwich Albion in successive Premier League games with an aggregate score of 10-1.

However, Jan Vertonghen was injured against the Baggies and, in the following game at the Etihad, Spurs’ defenders struggled to cope with Manchester City’s ferocious pressing and were unable to play out from the back.

Pochettino swiftly ditched the 3-4-2-1 formation in the first half, and he seemed to lose confidence in the system altogether, opting to use a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 set-up instead for the next six matches.

The change affected Spurs’ creativity though and they only managed one goal (a penalty) in four games against Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Gent.

Pochettino responded by switching back to 3-4-2-1 midway through last week’s first-leg defeat in Belgium – and he opted for that system at Wembley tonight as well, using it from the start for the first time in seven matches.

It is probably not a coincidence that Vertonghen returned from injury at the weekend after missing six games. His manager seemingly, and understandably, feels his ability to play neatly under pressure and fire low forward passes into Tottenham’s midfielders is vital if the formation is to work properly.

Whatever his reasoning is, the plan initially worked. Although Davies was typically ineffective on the left side, right-back Kyle Walker found space time and again on the wide Wembley pitch and effectively spent the first half as an unmarked winger, repeatedly getting opportunities to attack Gent’s penalty box.

Things went badly wrong from the 20th minute onwards – the visitors scored an away goal and Dele Alli was sent off before the interval.

But, before then, the prospect of a season at Wembley didn’t look so bad and this system looks like it could be particularly effective when it comes to making use of the space.

3. Eriksen’s back on form

The Danish playmaker has had peaks and troughs throughout his Spurs career and, after a fine run of form earlier in the winter, he went through a quiet spell.

Spurs’ threat diminished as a result for a month or so, but Eriksen has come roaring back to life in the last two games.

Having set up Harry Kane’s first two goals at Fulham on Sunday, he scored the opener this evening – netting his first goal for 12 games – and then laid on Victor Wanyama’s second-half strike with a neat touch.

The 25-year-old looked sharp from the start and his flair was matched by his industry. He did not deserve to leave the pitch with his head bowed, and his manager and team-mates will hope this is just the start of another hot streak of form.

4. Alli’s dismissal

The one concern about the young midfielder last season, during his breakthrough campaign, was his discipline and inability to control his temper.

Alli got involved in a few spats, he was booked 11 times, and there was a fear that at some point he was going to be sent off in a big game.

In the end, he missed the final three games of last season because of a retrospective ban after punching West Brom’s Claudio Yacob.

There have been fewer worries on that front this season. Alli has shown a greater maturity alongside his all-round improvement, and has only picked up five yellow cards.

But tonight all of those issues resurfaced as he was shown a straight red card for a horrible shin-high tackle six minutes before the break.

A couple of decisions had not gone Alli’s way and, having appealed in vain for a free kick, he got back to his feet and dived in recklessly on Brecht Dejaegere, leaving his team up against it, needing two goals with 10 men.

Pochettino has faced a number of questions in the past about Alli’s mentality and he will now have to answer more of them.

5. More frustration at Wembley but cause for encouragement nonetheless

This evening’s events will have done little to dispel the theory that Spurs have something of a hoodoo at the national stadium – they have only won of their last eight competitive games at the national stadium and, although they technically drew tonight (2-2), it felt like another defeat.

Pochettino and his players have stressed the need to make Wembley feel like home and there is still work to do in that respect.

However, this setback was nothing like the limp displays that they produced against Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League group.

This was a brave battle against the odds, and for a while there was a real belief that Spurs could complete their unlikely comeback. Pochettino waved his arms, geeing up the crowd, and they responded, urging their side on.

Gent’s late goal finally put the tie out of Tottenham’s reach, and the north Londoners will rue their failure to make the most of their own chances – they had 25 shots but only three were on target.

The fans left feeling inevitable disappointment. But if the Lilywhites put in similar performances at Wembley in future, and the massed ranks of supporters can exude similar positivity and energy, Tottenham will be a force to be reckoned with under the arch.

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