Tottenham Hotspur hit another bump in the road in their search for a top four finish by dropping points for a second consecutive week in their 0-0 draw at Brentford on Saturday, with Christian Eriksen having a big part to play against his former side.
The Danish midfielder has been a revelation at the Bees since signing in January on his comeback to football following cardiac arrest at Euro 2020, and he may now have dealt a crucial blow to Antonio Conte ’s Champions League hopes.
Eriksen may have performed on the pitch against his old club, but he also had a huge impact off it by assisting Thomas Frank with his preparations for the game and catching out Tottenham ’s predictability.
In his post-match interview, Eriksen revealed how playing under Conte at Inter Milan last season enabled him to provide his manager and teammates with what to expect from Spurs on Saturday. He said: "I think we knew what they were coming with. I've played with Conte and I know the system he likes to play, and we trained in the week how we thought they would play and they played the way we expected.
“Harry and Sonny are two exceptional players, and they have a good team and a good structure so of course we need to be sharp and I think everyone was really. I think this week I've been more involved in a set-up towards a game than I've ever been involved before.
"Of course, Thomas came to me a few times and asked 'what this like', but of course he knew. Everyone who plays against Tottenham and against Conte's system, they know most of the time how they're going to play, and of course he knew. He asked a few tips and a few structure things, but in the end, it was him setting the team - I didn't control any of that. But he saw it right."
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Eriksen’s knowledge and Frank’s tactics paid dividends in the end as the Bees held their visitors to a frustrating 0-0 draw at the Brentford Community Stadium, with the hosts taking a valuable point at Tottenham’s expense of dropping two and slipping out of the top four.
Spurs may have ended up with more possession over the course of the game, but they were limited in their ability to trouble the Brentford defence and, despite having just nine attempts on goal, they failed to register a single shot on target and trouble David Raya in between the sticks.
As a result of their last two matches, Spurs have gone from sitting three points clear in fourth place to falling two points behind in fifth within a single week. It highlights just how quickly things can change, yet the north London club are now running out of time to turn things around once again.
With a two point gap to chase and just five games to go, including a trip to Liverpool and a north London derby, they now face a tough task to overtake Arsenal in the battle for Champions League football.
