Joe Hart blasts ‘lazy’ Lucas Bergvall for ‘calamitous’ Tottenham failure
Joe Hart slammed Lucas Bergvall for his “lazy” defending that allowed AZ Alkmaar to level their Europa League tie.
Bergvall scored a calamitous own-goal in the first-leg, and the Swede was once again at fault for Spurs against their Dutch opponents.
Ange Postecoglou is facing the sack at Tottenham, and the Europa League is seen as the Australian manager’s last chance to prove himself.
Spurs took the lead on the night through Wilson Odobert in the 26th minute, and then took the lead on aggregate thanks to James Maddison, before another howler from Bergvall put the tie in doubt.
Tottenham ‘shoot themselves in the foot’ with Lucas Bergvall error
With an hour gone, and Spurs in complete control of the game, Bergvall received the ball from Odobert near the edge of his own box.
The Swedish midfielder then played a casual first-time pass, that pinged off the French winger’s foot, landing at the feet of Peer Koopmeiners.
The 24-year-old midfielder drove into an empty Tottenham box, before firing past the helpless Guglielmo Vicario.
| Match stats | Tottenham | AZ Alkmaar |
| Possession | 60% | 40% |
| Shots (on target) | 17 (4) | 10 (2) |
| Expected goals | 2.05 | 1.32 |
| Big chances (missed) | 2 (0) | 3 (2) |
| Corners | 5 | 2 |
The goal left former England and Spurs goalkeeper Hart in shock, bemoaning the “calamitous” error on TNT Sports (9.27pm): “There’s always been that threat in the game for Tottenham, no matter how well they’re playing, they look like they’re just gonna shoot themselves in the foot.
“That ball was dealt with! Archie Gray got back, did what he needed to do, held up Troy Parrott.
“Gray just slightly caught out, but he gets back in, gets goal side, gives Troy Parrott no options.
“Ahhh, it’s calamitous really. Really, really, really slack.
“Bergvall, been enjoying his performance all night, just got lazy.”
Bergvall had a nightmare game for Tottenham, but his teammates were on-hand to bail him out, with Odobert getting on the scoresheet again to give Spurs the win on the tie.
The North London club will now face Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-final of the Europa League.
Ange Postecoglou gets Tottenham season back-on-track
Football Insider Verdict
Despite being under pressure for what feels like the entire season, Postecoglou will have breathed a massive sigh of relief, as his Spurs side put in a (mostly) composed performance to defeat AZ.
Odobert came alive, the partnership of Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero were resolute at the back, and Heung-Min Son looked back to his best.
However, the performance of James Maddison was most telling. The England international was called out by Roy Keane for under-delivering this season, but the former Leicester man ran the show against AZ.
The telling difference for Postecoglou was having most of his squad available against the Dutch side, something the Australian has not had all season long.
Should Tottenham go all the way, and with their performance against AZ it looks a real possibility, then all the woes of this season will be forgotten.