Tottenham Hotspur exited the Champions League with a whimper on Tuesday night by virtue of a Marcel Sabitzer masterclass and a debilitating injury crisis.
The rolling of Andy Madley’s eyes induced by Jose Mourinho’s touchline bickering at Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon rather aptly summarised how many are compelled to feel when listening to the divisive Portuguese manager, but even the staunchest of Mourinho critics would be hard-pressed to deny that mitigating circumstances played their part in Spurs’ humbling European exit just nine months after reaching the 2019 final.
With Harry Kane and Son Heung-min already sidelined, the scale of the challenge that lay before Mourinho turned into an impossible job when Steven Bergwijn was ruled out just days before the clash.
Moving forward the visitors were toothless, hopelessly bereft of ideas and distinctly lacking the presence of a focal point. But even with that said the 3-0 defeat cannot be explained solely by the absences in attacking positions.
Mourinho was outclassed by Julian Nagelsmann, whose RB Leipzig side were slicker, faster, wiser, stronger and Sabitzer. The pony-tailed assassin struck twice early in the first-half to effectively kill the tie stone dead, with Spurs failing to provide as much as a fleeting moment of optimism to suggest a repeat of the Amsterdam Arena miracle was even remotely plausible.
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In the first leg Sabitzer was disciplined, dynamic and a little bit devilish, marshalling the midfield with authority. In the second leg he was unshackled and deadly, arriving into the penalty area in a manner akin to Dele Alli at his elusive best. At the other end, Alli cut a frustrated figure but still had arguably the visitors’ best chance of the game in the second half when he finessed a cutback straight into the arms of Peter Gulasci.
Valued at £36m by Transfermarkt, it would be no surprise if some of Europe’s giants posed the question to Leipzig this summer in a bid to secure Sabitzer’s signature.
While much will be made of the collective absence of Kane, Son and Bergwijn, it was Moussa Sissoko who Mourinho most dearly missed in East Germany. It speaks to the extent of the Frenchman’s turnaround in north London that Spurs simply aren’t the same beast without him in midfield.
Against Leipzig, Sabitzer and Konrad Laimer dictated the tempo of the game and exposed Mourinho’s biggest problem as Harry Winks was bullied and outclassed in the centre of the field.
Winks is a tidy player no doubt. The fact he has been trusted by Mauricio Pochettino, Mourinho and also Gareth Southgate at international level proves elite tacticians appreciate his value, but without an engine to drive the team forward and sweep up in front of the back-four he looked ominously out of his depth.
Sissoko was the engine he so often operated in tandem with under Pochettino, and without his partner in crime there are glaring issues to unpick.
A return of five wins from eight league games with Sissoko in the side since Mourinho’s arrival, including a thumping 5-0 win over Burnley, alludes to the 30-year-old’s importance to the club.
Statistically speaking, more is required to show exactly how Spurs operate with and without Sissoko in the side but any sure-sighted onlooker could see how easily Sabitzer and Laimer were controlling the game, exposing and dissecting gaping holes in the midfield seemingly as and when they pleased.
Givoani Lo Celso, to his credit, offered resistance but he is not blessed with the same level of physicality that Sissoko can boast.
Lo Celso and Winks are more astute decision-makers in possession but Tuesday’s reality-check proved that both brains and brawn are required to compete at the elite level.
And what we are left with is a feeling that not so long ago would have been taken for a parody or playful irony: how Tottenham manager Mourinho could have done with Sissoko in Leipzig.