The English media are extremely critical of Nuno Espírito Santo’s choice to travel with a B-team to Arnhem for the match against Vitesse. The Tottenham Hotspur coach left the players who played against Newcastle United (2-3 win) all at home on Sunday. The choice cost Tottenham dearly, because Vitesse was 1-0 too strong in the group stage of the Conference League on Thursday evening.
The Daily Mail calls Maximilian Wittek’s winning goal ‘superb’ but is overall surprised by the victory of the minnows from Vitesse, which means something like ‘little thumb’. “Shortly before boarding the airport for the Netherlands on Wednesday, Nuno Espirito Santo raised his voice. He contradicted the suggestion that the Conference League was just an afterthought. He rejected the idea that Tottenham now has two different teams: one for the Premier League and one for the Premier League. one to travel through Europe with. What a pity, then, that that message did not reach the players who had traveled to Arnhem, “writes the newspaper somewhat cynically.
What a goal from Wittek ??
?? ESPN
#?? #vittot pic.twitter.com/oEXUErY15s— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) October 21, 2021
“None of the eleven players who played against Newcastle United last weekend were on the pitch in Arnhem. Tottenham instead played with second choice. No risk involved, apparently. Yeah, about that… After a lousy Tottenham game, GelreDome shook to its foundations. This is a memorable victory that Vitesse will cherish for a while. A deserved one, too.” The difference in experience at Vitesse and Tottenham was clearly noticeable, according to the newspaper. “The folk festival in the stands at Vitesse spoke volumes. For Vitesse, best known on this island as the school for Chelsea youngsters, this was a special evening, a rare match against a major European club.”
“For Tottenham it was especially a painful way to be reminded of the free fall since the last trip to the Netherlands. Two and a half years after the heroic victory over Ajax, Lucas Moura didn’t even leave London. Neither did the rest of the first team”, the newspaper said. Also The Sun saw Espírito Santo’s choices go wrong. “The trainer started with a kid named Scarlett in the striker. That was appropriate, because that was the color of his face after the defeat,” the newspaper writes. The color ‘scarlet’ is scarlet red in Dutch.
“You can’t help but wonder what the late Jimmy Greaves (Tottenham’s all-time top scorer), who will be buried on Friday, would have thought of a team with such a tactic. You can’t help but feel sorry for the 17-year-old Dane Scarlett, who had to fill Harry Kane’s position in the vanguard. The Netherlands has relaxed the corona rules, but the poor boy was still isolated. Whatever Nuno says, it is clear that he has underestimated Vitesse and is paying the price. ” The defeat put Tottenham in third place in the group with four points.