Son Heung-min insisted that Tottenham’s defeat by AZ in the Europa League must be a “wake-up call” for their hopes of winning silverware this season as Ange Postecoglou admitted his side did not have the “right mindset for an away game in Europe”.
Spurs managed only one shot on target in the first leg of their last-16 tie and Lucas Bergvall’s own goal handed the Dutch side a slender advantage for next week’s second leg in north London. In the second half, Son was replaced by Dominic Solanke, who was then forced off himself. The England striker had just returned from seven weeks out with a knee injury, but Postecoglou said he hoped the latest problem was just a knock.
Related: Bergvall’s own goal gives AZ advantage after abject Tottenham display
Son, the Tottenham captain, was highly critical of his side’s display and called on the team to adopt a different mindset for what he described as “the biggest game of our season next week”. “This was nowhere near the level we should be in terms of our performance,” he said. “This is very disappointing, including from myself, and it is a big wake-up call ahead of the biggest game of our season next week. It is tough playing away from home in the Europa League. We were sloppy and not performing how we should. Everyone is disappointed and we have to look at ourselves. No excuses and it was nowhere near good enough. It is just 1-0 and the tie is not finished. Next week we have to be much better than we were tonight.”
Postecoglou acknowledged that the deficit could have been greater had AZ taken their chances. “We didn’t really come to grips and have the right mindset to tackle an away fixture in Europe,” said the head coach. “It is always tough and we obviously conceded the goal, which was a disappointing set of events but even after that we didn’t really settle down into the game at all.
“You are going to face some pressure when you play away from home in Europe and weather the storm and get to grips with it, but we never really did so that was a disappointment. It’s only 1-0 so I guess that’s a positive in that we didn’t let the game get away from us.”
Asked about the extent of Solanke’s injury after he had to be helped back to the dugout by a physio having landed awkwardly after a challenge, Postecoglou added: “I am not even sure. It looks like a knock but I haven’t really seen it. Hopefully nothing too bad.”
