ClapMotivation is one of the key things you need in order to find success in football, especially at the highest level. If you aren’t able to get yourself up for big time games and inspire the masses, then you may as well not even be there in the first place.
Now, courtesy of Liverpool’s big win last night over Barcelona, it feels like Tottenham Hotspur have been given that motivational boost they need to really take their tie against Ajax to the next level. They lost out narrowly in the first leg which has put them on the back foot, but as we all know, it’s never over until it’s over. Tottenham are missing some big names which is obviously going to cause them some issues, but at this stage, what do they really have to lose?
Intriguing outcomes
Ironically, potentially a lot. This report from BBC Sport seems to indicate, from the mouth of the manager, that Mauricio Pochettino could leave the club if he winds up winning them the Champions League. It seems like he may have been joking in some way, shape or form, but either way, it’s something to think about.
It seems obvious at this stage to suggest that Son Heung-min is going to be a really important piece of the puzzle tonight, regardless of whether or not people think he’s ‘as good as everyone says he is’. He is the main source of goals for Tottenham this evening, with Football.London reporting pretty much the exact same thing.
The big story, of course, if Tottenham can get the job done, is that we’ll see an all-English Champions League final. It’ll mark the first time since 2008 that this has been the case, when Manchester United and Chelsea battled it out in Moscow. It was Sir Alex Ferguson’s Red Devils that came out on top on penalties that night, but this time around, there’s something a little bit more special about it.
Why? Because it just feels that way. Liverpool and Tottenham have both been viewed, considered and dubbed ‘bottle jobs’ by most neutral fans, and if they square off in the final, one of them will get the opportunity to right that wrong. They’ll be the ones that are showcasing what the English can do on the grandest stage of them all, and they’re going to be the ones that are the measuring sticks.
The opposition
Ajax have had a phenomenal run in their own right, but there’s just something in the water for these two clubs this year. Sure, Ajax beat Real Madrid and Juventus in order to get to this point, but Spurs’ VAR miracle against City and Liverpool’s outstanding comeback against Barcelona makes it seem like they’re destined to square off.
We could be talking absolute waffle as you’d imagine, but why can’t it happen? It already seems like the Europa League stage is set for an all-English final in that competition, so just imagine what getting one done in both could do for the Premier League.
