"I hope it's not a big injury."
Tottenham manager Angie Postecoglou responded to a question about striker Dominique Solanke's injury shortly after the defeat against AZ Alkmaar.
Tottenham lost 0-1 on the 7th (Korea time) with Lucas Verbal's own goal shaking the net in the 18th minute of the first half after a lethargic play in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16. It is no exaggeration to say that the Europa League is everything this season for Tottenham, who has been eliminated in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup and is struggling with 13th place in the league. The match luck is so good that multiple betting companies predicted Tottenham's victory. Nevertheless, in the first round of the round of 16, he was struck by ambush Alkmaar. In addition, another bad injury occurred.
Solanke, who returned to the ground for the first time in seven weeks, faced the bad luck of collapsing again due to injury in just 20 minutes. Solanke, who entered the ground in place of Captain Son Heung-min in the 27th minute of the second half, collided strongly with the opposing goalkeeper Roma, Jadon Ousu and Oduro during the heading jump and fell. The scene of struggling on the ground complaining of back and knee pain caused concern. It's likely a simple bruise, but Solanke limped and was in pain after leaving the field and was eventually replaced by Dane Scarlett in second-half stoppage time.
Asked by reporters about Solanke's injury after the game, Postecoglou appeared to be hitting him. I hope it's not a big injury. It hurts a little bit,' he said, updating the current situation.
Meanwhile, shortly after the defeat, Son Heung-min told TNT Sports that `"We fell far short of our performance.", he expressed his regret. "It's very disappointing that all the team, myself included, played like this. I think next week's game (the second round of the round of 16) is the most important game of the season, so I think it's a wake-up call before that"I reflected on the meaning of defeat. "I don't think I was too careful. Away from the Europa League is always difficult. We didn't produce anything in the first half, we were clumsy and we didn't do our job properly"The individual performance and the team performance are all very disappointing. We have to look back on ourselves." "There is no excuse. We weren't good enough. But it's still only 0-1 and it's not over yet. We need to be much better next week," he said, expressing his willingness to turn the tables. Postecoglou also said "It wasn't a good night for us. It was obviously a disappointing result, a disappointing performance", he admitted. "I didn't get the game right, and it wasn't a matter of attitude or effort, but I had a problem with my mindset about away to Europa. It wasn't a good night for us, but now it's halfway through and it's still a tight situation." Asked if he was confident of turning the game around at home in North London, Postecoglou expressed confidence, saying, `Of course!`. "In the room, we can score goals and put pressure on our opponents. I'll have a better game than tonight"I promised.
Tottenham, ranked 13th in the league (33 points), will play a home game against Bournemouth (43 points) in the 28th round of the English Premier League (EPL) at 11 p.m. on the 9th, four days later, at 5 a.m. on the 14th, against AZ Alkmaar in the second round of the 16th round of destiny, 'live only by winning'. As Son Heung-min said, Son Heung-min's soccer career is also the most important big match for Tottenham this season.
Reporter Jeon Young-ji sky4us@sportschosun.com
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
