co still couldnt find a way through, giving Victory anothe

Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Monaco means Mauricio Pochettino’s men can no longer progress in the Champions League. It’s the continuation of a worrying run of form for Spurs, writes Adam Bate… Mauricio Pochettino argued that you can only smile after Tottenham bounced back from a lacklustre first-half to earn a point at Arsenal earlier this month. Their fans added laughter to the smiles after turning another derby around against West Ham at the weekend. But Tuesdays defeat to Monaco showed theres also a serious side to Tottenhams travails.Of course, this is no crisis club. Spurs are the only team in the Premier League who remain unbeaten in the competition. But nor could the 2-1 defeat in the principality, one that confirmed the team will not be progressing to the Champions League knockout stage, be regarded as a shock result either. Spurs are struggling not soaring this season. Tottenham crash out Tottenhams 2-1 defeat at Monaco ends their hopes of Champions League progress. Saturdays scarcely deserved win was their first in eight. The fluency that so marked their title tilt in the spring is long gone and explanations are offered as regularly as the fixtures pile up. Its the challenge of the Champions League. Its the Wembley home games. Its injuries to key players like Harry Kane and Toby Alderweireld. Its new players needing time to settle.All of these things should be seen as reasons rather excuses. Chelsea and Liverpool are enjoying far greater preparation time. Pochettino can show videos to his players but the opportunity to drill them relentlessly on the training ground has been lost. The problem is we dont have time to train too much, he admits. The priority is to rest and recover. Mauricio Pochettino has problems to address after Champions League blow Wembley has been a factor in their Champions League disappointment. The problem is home games, as simple as that, said Hugo Lloris this week. Its very clear.The ease with which Monaco cut through Spurs on Tuesday challenged that theory but nevertheless, had they so much as drawn their two Wembley games, theyd be on course for the last 16. Danny Mills and Steve Sidwell discuss Tottenhams early exit from the Champions League. The disruptive impact of losing Kane and Alderweireld can hardly be overstated either, particularly when neither man missed a Premier League game last season.Replacements Kevin Wimmer and Vincent Janssen have offered nowhere near the same quality - but could that ever really have been expected of back-up figures given the abilities of the missing men? The confidence, belief and fluency just seems to have drained out of them. Paul Walsh, Sky Sports And yet, still there are issues that nag away. While Pochettinos reputation as one of the brightest young coaches in the game has been too hard earned to be easily lost, it must be acknowledged that mistakes have been made too.The coach is striving to get the balance right in rotating his squad but its difficult to be persuaded that he is getting it spot on.With Alderweireld missing, Jan Vertonghens inclusion surely became of paramount importance against a Monaco side that had scored 28 goals in their previous eight matches. Not since Alderweirelds arrival had Spurs gone into either a Premier League or a Champions League fixture without one of the two Belgians in the starting line-up. Harry Kane did equalise from the spot but Monaco soon retook the lead Instead, the experienced Vertonghen was left on the bench as Wimmer and Eric Dier were paired at the back. Alongside him among the substitutes was Kyle Walker as Pochettino opted to go into the game with only Danny Rose of his first-choice back four. It was a gamble befitting the Monte Carlo surroundings and it did not pay off.Dier, looking as uncomfortable in defence as hed appeared assured in midfield, was guilty of a wild swing at the ball in conceding the first-half penalty that was saved by the brilliant Lloris.Wimmers woes, meanwhile, show no sign of coming to an end - unable to intercept crosses as might be expected of a man of his height let alone track runners at pace. Hugo Lloris made nine saves against Monaco - the joint-most by a goalkeeper in this seasons Champions League. But its not all about individual errors. Tactically too, Spurs have issues that need to be addressed.The lack of width in the team is supposed to be resolved in an attacking sense by the forays of the full-backs, but against Monaco both Rose and Kieran Trippier found themselves badly exposed defensively by the absence of meaningful cover ahead of them.This was a key factor in Monacos match-winning goal. Straight from the kick-off, right-back Djibril Sidibe was able to overlap untracked leaving Rose in a two-on-one situation and unable to cut out the cross. On the other side of the pitch, left-winger Thomas Lemar had the freedom to pick his spot with no sign of any support for Trippier. Highlights of Tottenhams 3-2 Premier League win over West Ham Perhaps Pochettino does not feel he has the players to do things any differently right now. Certainly, wide options Moussa Sissoko and Georges-Kevin NKoudou have shown little so far to suggest they should be entrusted with such roles. And the Argentine at least seems well aware of the need for his Spurs project to evolve more than two years into the job.Hes spoken of the need to be flexible and to play in different ways in different games recently, backing that up by going with three at the back against Arsenal. But his admission that he cannot rotate the way wed like to rotate the players suggest that his selections are being governed by issues of fitness rather than tactical preference. Sky Sports Black Friday sale Upgrade to Sky Sports now and get 12 months half price! Weve had a difficult period over the last month for different reasons, he said ahead of a result that leaves Spurs facing the prospect of the Europa League once more.We need to be clever. We need to assess every player because we have some problems, we need to be clinical in how we pick the starting 11 because we have a lot of games ahead.The next of those games is at Chelsea on Saturday. Its a return to the ground where Pochettinos players unravelled along with their title hopes in May. Theyll need to be cleverer this time. Given the form of the two teams, they might also need some more of their derby fortune if theyre to find a way to be smiling when they leave Stamford Bridge.Upgrade to Sky Sports now and get 12 months half price. Hurry, offer ends December 4!Also See:Tottenham crash outAs it happenedVapormax 2019 Suomi . -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move and then let go with a soft floater from about 10 feet that swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse. Nike Vapormax Halvalla . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. http://www.vapormaxsuomi.com/ . The Brazilian goalkeeper signed a loan deal with the Major League Soccer club on Friday as he looks to get playing time ahead of this summers World Cup in his home country. Vapormax Plus Ale . -- Anaheim Ducks defenceman Luca Sbisa will be out at least six weeks with a torn tendon in his right hand. Vapormax Flyknit 2 Ale . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue.Melbourne Victory have claimed a second heavyweight European scalp in a week, defeating a second-string Atletico Madrid 1-0 at Simonds Stadium.Nick Ansells 44th minute header from Fahid Ben Khalfallahs free kick was enough to earn Victory the stunning result, coming after last Saturday nights penalty shoot-out win over Juventus.Atletico were without many of their senior names after their exertions against Tottenham on Friday night, less than 48 hours prior.It meant the 16,652-strong crowd were denied a glimpse of Fernando Torres in action, but saw an entertaining match nonetheless.Victory gloveman Lawrence Thomas was kept busy by Diego Simeones team, which produced plenty of half-chances without cutting through.But Victory coach Kevin Muscat saw plenty to like in Geelong.New defensive signing Alan Baro performed well on his starting debut, with Leigh Broxham and Rashid Mahazi helping to quell the La Liga giants.I asked for some progress and I thought we got that this afternoon, said Muscat.We slowly started finding the solutions. In the second half I thought we controlled the game and dominated both with the ball and without.Atletico had the lions share of chances on goal but Victory cashed in on their best moment from a foul on Ben Khalfallah.In essennce, they out-Atletico-ed Atletico.dddddddddddd.Muscats side soaked up the pressure from the young touring team and rebounded to great effect.Ben Khalfallahs expert delivery found Ansell unmarked at the back post, where he headed past Slovenian international goalkeeper Jan Oblak.The contest was transformed on the hour mark, when Muscat made six changes with Wednesdays FFA Cup match in mind.Atletico still couldnt find a way through, giving Victory another win over a touring side.Simeone said he was happy with the performance and experience from their whirlwind tour of Melbourne.The overall experience has been very good. We were treated very well, he said through a translator.Weve experienced good grounds, good crowd participation and got what we came for.Muscat cleared Mitch Austin of serious injury after a clash that led to his early substitution.The recruit was floored by Atletico defender Emiliano Velazquez inside the matchs opening 30 seconds but Muscat said he would be fine for the FFA Cup round of 32 match on Wednesday.It was a direct knock knee to knee. Hell be fine, he said.Ill be very surprised if hes not available. ' ' '