Saturday, May 8, 2021 at 3:28 PM• Daniel Cabot Kerkdijk • Last update: 15:43

Tottenham Hotspur’s Champions League dream seems to be over. Manager Ryan Mason’s team lost 3-1 at Leeds United on Saturday afternoon, which means that the disadvantageous margin compared to the top four is likely to become too large. It is even questionable whether an admission ticket for the Europa League is a feasible card, as Liverpool and Everton are two duels less and are two and four points behind respectively.

Leeds went into halftime on Elland Road with a 2-1 lead and that was well deserved. Stuart Dallas opened the score after nine minutes with an easy rebound after goalkeeper Hugo Lloris half turned a ball deflected by Sergio Reguilon. Tottenham’s only real chance in the first 45 minutes was immediately hit. After a good pass from Dele Alli, Heung-min Son shot the 1-1 behind goalkeeper Illan Meslier out of nowhere.

Tottenham appeared to be 1-2 minutes later when Harry Kane cashed in on a handy pass from Alli again, but the flag was raised for offside. The VAR concluded that the decision was correct, although Kane appeared to be exactly on the same page. A good attack from Leeds over several discs led to the 2-1 just before the break: Patrick Bamford tapped the ball in at the first post.

Mason’s team was unable to avert a defeat after the break. A goal from Kane was again disallowed for offside, although there were no doubts whether the striker was offside or not. Kane also aimed the ball from a free kick on the crossbar. Seven minutes before the end, Rodrigo Moreno made the decision, by shooting in the 3-1 on a pass from Raphinha.

At Leeds, Pascal Struijk played the entire match. Steven Bergwijn stayed on the bench with the Spurs. It was Tottenham’s first league defeat under Mason, who succeeded the dismissed José Mourinho last month. However, they lost to Manchester City (0-1) in the League Cup final.