Glenn Hoddle has bizarrely claimed that Tottenham’s last-16 Europa League loss to AZ Alkmaar is a “better result” for them than the Dutch side.
AZ were deserved 1-0 winners on Thursday night as Tottenham were undone by a comical own goal by Lucas Bergvall, with the visitors having just one shot on target.
The teenager miscued his clearance on the edge of the six-yard box and his team-mates were helpless as the ball flew into the top corner in the 18th minute.
At the time, former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara said on Sky Sports that it was a “terrible” mistake by Bergvall, with Hoddle adding on TNT Sports that it was “very unfortunate” own goal.
And while things didn’t get much better for the north London outfit against the Eredivisie team, Hoddle – who played 490 times for Spurs – was taking the positives out of the result ahead of next week’s second leg.
“They [Tottenham] were lacklustre in their performance. But that’s a better result for Tottenham than it is for AZ,” he said. “To play so mediocre and come home with just a one-goal deficit, they’ll be happy with that. Not the performance, but the result.”
AZ may still fancy their chances with this one-goal advantage ahead of their trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next week.
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Tottenham ‘nowhere near’ the required level
After crashing out of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in 2025, along with struggling in the Premier League, the Europa League is Tottenham’s last chance at silverware this season.
Despite this being a crucial fixture, head coach Postecoglou admitted his team were not at the races across the board. However, he did not criticise Bergvall as freak incidents like that can happen.
The Australian told TNT Sports: “It was a tricky pitch and we didn’t really handle it really well. Aside from that, we just weren’t aggressive enough and we were way too passive in terms of the way we pressed.
“Too many times we were just circulating the ball without any real intent to hurt them. No fault for the goal, it happens. It’s more about the collective tonight rather than the individuals.
“Collectively, we were nowhere near the level we needed to be and that’s the thing we need to address.”
Tottenham return to Premier League action on Sunday at home to Bournemouth, before hosting AZ in the return leg next Thursday.