The player who consoled Lankshear after red card - 5 things spotted in Galatasaray vs Tottenham
Tottenham's 100% start to their Europa League campaign came to an end on Thursday evening following a 3-2 defeat against Galatasaray. Fresh from last Sunday's 4-1 win over Aston Villa, Ange Postecoglou made a total of seven changes to his Spurs team as players such as Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Yves Bissouma and James Maddison came in for a start.
Will Lankshear was also named in the team as he led the line in place of first-choice striker Dominic Solanke. Six minutes were on the clock when Yunus Akgun opened the scoring for the hosts with an unstoppable volley from 25 yards that flew into the top corner of Fraser Forster's goal.
Galatasaray would only lead for a total of 12 minutes as Lankshear levelled things up from close range to register his first senior goal for the club. Moments after having a goal chalked off for offside, Victor Osimhen's next attempt counted as he took advantage of some sloppy play from Spurs to put the Turkish giants ahead for the second time in the encounter.
The Nigerian was to add another goal to his tally seven minutes later as he got between Pedro Porro and Radu Dragusin to convert Dries Mertens' cross. Spurs' evening was to go from bad to worse on the hour mark as Lankshear, not long after seeing a chance saved, was given his marching orders for his second bookable offence.
Tottenham did give themselves some hope going into the final 20 minutes as substitute Solanke pulled one back with a lovely flick from Porro's driven cross but they were unable to get a third and leave with a point. Here are five things we spotted in what was a crazy match in Istanbul:
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Light in attack
Postecoglou took the opportunity to rotate his Tottenham stars in Istanbul but he didn't have the option to rest some players he may have liked. to Already short in attack heading into the game due to Wilson Odobert and Richarlison's respective injuries, Spurs were dealt further bad news on the injury front on the eve of the showdown with another two players missing out.
Postecoglou revealed in his pre-match press conference that Timo Werner was not available due to a "groin complaint" and Mikey Moore would also not make the trip after picking up a virus. That meant Brennan Johnson and Son Heung-min had to start on the right and left flanks respectively, with Lankshear the man up top instead of Solanke.
Already having to deal with some injuries to key players, Tottenham really cannot afford to pick up any more issues right now. That probably explained why Johnson and Son made way at the break ahead of Sunday's game against Ipswich Town.
Squad numbers confirmed
Due to the amount of players missing out in Turkey, Postecoglou had to call upon some of the club's most talented youngsters to help bolster his squad. Joining Lankshear in the travelling party were Alfie Dorrington, Dante Cassanova, Callum Olusesi and 16-year-old Luca Williams-Barnett.
The inclusion of highly-rated Williams-Barnett went down extremely well with Spurs supporters going on the forward's outstanding form for the Under-18s this term. As both Olusesi and Williams-Barnett were named in the first-team squad for the very first time, the duo were handed the No.64 and No.78 shirts respectively.
Gray's magic moment
Unable to mark his senior Tottenham debut with a goal in their previous European away tie at Ferencvaros, Lankshear ensured he found the net against Galatasaray. The youngster was presented with a glorious opening inside the first couple of minutes when played through but he appeared a tad hesitant and that allowed former Spurs man Davinson Sanchez to get back and produce a timely block. Lankshear's blushes were to be spared by the offside flag, however.
He was to make no mistake with his next attempt as he restored parity on 18 minutes. It was such a good goal from a Tottenham perspective as Gray picked out Johnson's run and the winger put the ball on a plate for the striker to net from point-blank range.
Lankshear will of course get the plaudits for his goal but Gray deserves so much praise for his floated pass that put Johnson in such a good position to register another assist. It was sublime play from the summer addition.
Spurs their own worst enemy
Tottenham really were their own worst enemy over the course of the game at RAMS Park. Postecoglou's men just gifted Galatasaray chance after chance due to their incredibly sloppy play in their own half.
Spurs were rather lucky Galatasaray hadn't scored more than three in the first half going on the amount of openings the Turkish side had. Osimhen had the ball in the net three times but only two of them counted, with his first of the evening coming after Bergvall had his pocket picked after dallying on the ball in the middle of the pitch despite having a clear opportunity to pass to Maddison.
Even after a Postecoglou team talk at the break, Spurs allowed their opponents to have two chances within the first 30 seconds of the restart and they were then thankful for Rodrigo Bentancur's block on the line moments later after Forster had dropped a simple ball from a free-kick. It was just relentless from Galatasaray and it was completely self-inflicted from a Tottenham perspective.
How Spurs only lost by the one goal was quite remarkable. Galatasaray had 28 shots on goal and had more than enough chances to score six or seven at RAMS Park.
Lankshear reaction
On what was such a memorable night for Lankshear after scoring his maiden Tottenham goal, it was to end in disappointment for the young striker as he was sent off on the hour mark for two bookable offences. Firstly seeing yellow after catching his opponent in the face following a long ball towards him, seven minutes later he received a second caution for a foul on Gabriel Sara.
After not getting a foul himself, Lankshear caught the Galatasaray player a bit late in front of the dugouts and it resulted in his dismissal. Bissouma ran straight over to remonstrate with the official and made it clear that Spurs should have had a free-kick for the foul on the frontman seconds earlier.
Lankshear looked completely gutted to have seen a red card brandished in his direction and he had one hand on his head as he reflected on the referee's decision. Porro showed his class by coming straight over to the player and giving him a slap on the back to console him before the striker made the walk back to the dressing room.
He was still in shock over the red card and walked through the tunnel with his hand still on his head. It's fair to say that the 19-year-old will never ever forget what happened on the night he scored his first senior goal for the football club.
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