Yahoo Sport 
'He left the striker naked' – Even Jose Mourinho had something to say about this bizarre Aston Villa moment
In our ‘Remember When’ series we look back through the Birmingham Mail archives for stories from Aston Villa's past.
Here we take a look at the bizarre incident involving Danish striker Nicklas Helenius against Tottenham in the League Cup on September 24 2013.
The Context
Nicklas Helenius arrived at Villa Park in the summer of 2013 from Danish side Aalborg. 22 years-old at the time, the striker was part of a number of arrivals including Leandro Bacuna, Jores Okore, and Aleksander Tonev.
READ MORE: Aston Villa once nearly landed their very own celebrity owners
READ MORE: 'Who is this Mr Blobby?' - The bizarre Aston Villa clash that sparked moment of genius
As with some of the unfortunate names on that list, it never really took off for Helenius. And a League Cup fourth round game against Tottenham Hotspur really summed up his experience.
What Happened Next?
With the visitors leading thanks to a Jermain Defoe goal, Helenius latched onto a bouncing ball in the box, outmuscling Spurs’ Jan Vertonghen in the process. The Belgian international appears to lose balance and fall, but he still doesn’t allow the Dane a free shot on goal.
Vertonghen instead grabs hold of Helenius’ shorts and pulls them down as he set’s himself to shoot. As you might expect, this puts the striker off somewhat as he shanks an effort into a rather stunned Holte End.
What followed can best be described as confusion. Vertonghen rather sheepishly got to his feet and jogged away, Helenius stood looking incredulous with his shorts still down, and the Villa Park crowd was left processing the fact they had just seen a grown man in his pants before their very eyes.
Then to the amazement of everyone in attendance, referee Jon Moss didn’t award a penalty or punish Vertonghen in any way. The incident was just left, and Villa would go on to lose the game 4-0.
The Match
Aston Villa 0 Tottenham Hotspur 4
Teams
Villa: Steer; Bennett, Baker, Vlaar, Lowton; Bacuna, Sylla; Albrighton, El Ahmadi (Bowery, HT), Tonev (Robinson, 82); Kozak (Helenius, HT) Unused subs: Guzan (g), Clark, Weimann, Johnson.
Spurs: Friedel; Walker (Dawson, 80), Chiriches, Vertonghen, Fryers; Lamela, Paulinho (Dembele, 64), Sandro, Holtby, Kane (Chadli, 73); Defoe Unused subs: Gomez (g), Soldado, Naughton, Townsend.
Referee: J Moss (Tyne & Wear)
Attendance: 22,975
Goals: Defoe (45+1, 90+2), Paulinho (49), Chadli (86)
What Helenius said
It might not surprise you to know that Helenius has offered little comment on the incident, neither in his time at Villa or following his 2015 departure.
What the boss said
Paul Lambert:
On the incident: “That was a big moment. I thought it was a penalty. I don’t think anybody could believe it. It was a strange decision.”
On the game: “I didn’t think there were four goals in that. We had a lot of players out injured and they were too much for us. But I couldn’t fault the lads for effort. We gave it a go in the second half and their second goal was a really poor goal from our point of view.”
What the Tottenham boss said
Andre Villas-Boas: “It was a difficult decision for the referee. I can understand why Paul would not be happy with that decision. Most likely in this situation there is no advantage to be gained and the penalty has to be whistled. Probably we got away with it.”
What Jose Mourinho said
Even the ‘Special One’ had something to say on this incident, after Vertonghen was responsible for Chelsea striker Fernando Torres picking up a second yellow card in a 1-1 draw the following weekend.
“He’s a special guy because three days ago he left the Aston Villa striker naked and it was not a penalty and not a red card because he should not have played this game.”
What the fans said
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Helenius’ unfortunate evening.
KushalSinghal: if you can’t beat them undress them #NicklasHelenius #THFC #AVFC
Iingillett: My Man of the Match tonight…………. Nicklas Helenius’ Underpants………… Well chosen briefs I say #panties #AVFC #utv
Pixelcandy: Unorthodox challenge from Vertonghen on Nicklas Helenius tonight! That’ll be a ‘what happened next’ on Question of Sport! #THFC #AVFC
Hydeciel7: Nicklas Helenius tough enough to fire a shot despite pants pulled down #AVFC vs spurs. Why no penalty?
How we reported it
Mat Kendrick, Birmingham Mail
Aston Villa had their Capital One Cup pants pulled down by Tottenham – on a night when Nicklas Helenius’ underwear provided the claret and blues’ only brief relief.
A Jermain Defoe double and goals from Paulinho and Nacer Chadli swept superior Spurs into round four as Paul Lambert’s semi-finalists of last season fell short.
Helenius standing in front of the Holte End in his pants after Jan Vertinghen grabbed his shorts was Villa’s main highlight, but at least Nicklas wasn’t knicker-less.
Even then the giggles of the 22,975 crowd were stifled by the Villa Park faithful’s frustration when referee Jon Moss failed to award a blatant penalty.
How other outlets reported it
BBC Sport: However, Villa should have been awarded a penalty early in the second half when Nicklas Helenius was impeded by Jan Vertonghen. The visitors only led by a single goal when Danish striker Helenius nipped in front of Vertonghen and bizarrely had his shorts pulled down by the tumbling Belgian defender. However, much to the bemusement of Villa manager Paul Lambert, referee Jon Moss turned down the penalty appeals.
The Telegraph: From first kick to last they left Villa exposed, both figuratively and literally, as the home side appealed for a second-half penalty when Jan Vertonghen accidentally pulled Niklas Helenius’s shorts down.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen something like that,” admitted manager Paul Lambert, struggling to stop laughing. “I don’t think anybody could believe it.”
The Guardian: Although a weakened Spurs team were much too strong for a depleted Villa side, the complexion of the game may well have changed had the referee, Jonathan Moss, penalised Jan Vertonghen for a clear foul on Nicklas Helenius in the penalty area at the start of the second half. Struggling to keep his footing, Vertonghen tugged at Helenius's shorts, pulling them down to leave the Dane shooting for goal sporting a pair of white briefs.
Mirror: Villa's best sight of goal was when substitute Nicklas Helenius burst into the box with the hosts trailing 1-0. But defender Jan Vertonghen man-handled the Danish striker by accidentally pulling down his shorts in a challenge. Helenius belatedly got his shot away but sliced it wide into the Holte End as Villa appealed in vain for a penalty.
Mail Online: The Danish striker was hauled back by the cheeky move and soon found himself with his white shorts around his knees, but with the ball still at his feet. By the time Helenius fired his shot over (well, you can't blame him for losing his composure...), he was showing off his pair of white pants to the fans inside Villa Park. Incredibly, referee Jon Moss refused to point to the penalty spot - leaving Villa searching for a goal... and red-faced Helenius pulling up his shorts.
The Sun: Aston Villa forward Nicklas Helenius could only produce a bit of a pants strike after his SHORTS were pulled down during their match against Spurs. Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen went to extreme measures in revealing the Dane’s tightie-whities, after he was beaten to the ball during the Capital One Cup match at Villa Park.
What else was going on ?
This is probably the incident that most Villa fans will remember Nicklas Helenius for, as his career failed to get off the ground. Helenius made just six appearances in the 2013/14 season, scoring one goal in an FA Cup third round defeat against Sheffield United. He returned on loan to Aalborg BK in the summer of 2014, before signing permanently in 2015.
At the time of the loss to Tottenham, it appeared as though he would play a bigger role over the next couple of months following the injury suffered by Christian Benteke. But not even the season ending leg injury suffered by Libor Kozak in December could help the Dane break into the side.
And so it was that Helenius’ legacy will always be that picture of him with his shorts around his knees, appealing for a penalty that will never come. Comically beautiful.
Be sure to get in touch and let us know your memories of the incident.
