Once again, it took too long for Tottenham to play like Antonio Conte wanted them to, only this time it was not too late. On one hand, Tottenham’s brilliant comeback from two goals down at Bournemouth was the perfect boost ahead of what is their biggest game of the season so far at Olympique Marseille tonight, but on the other an unwanted recent record is adding further trepidation to a fixture where Spurs simply cannot afford to slip up in. Lose in France and they will be out of the Champions League.
It’s as simple as that but at least Tottenham know the stakes ahead of a match of this magnitude, while they will be only too aware of their run of slow starts. Conte’s side have since conceded the opening goal in their last four games, and have trailed at half-time in their last three. Defeats to Manchester United and Newcastle were coming and although Spurs finished strongly against Sporting and Bournemouth, they have made life hard for themselves too often of late. While a winner came at Bournemouth, another was controversially ruled out against Sporting.
