Tottenham’s middling form continued with a scrappy 1-1 draw with Rangers in the Europa League.
Dejan Kulusevski came off the bench at half-time and scored a 75th-minute equaliser to rescue a point for Ange Postecoglou’s depleted Spurs on the former Celtic boss’ return to Glasgow.
Hamza Igamane gave Rangers a deserved lead at the start of the second half and they looked set to heap the pressure on Postecoglou before Kulusevski’s cool finish.
Here are three Spurs talking points from the match…
Spurs need strong finish in the Europa League
An uninspiring draw at Ibrox stopped the rot but did little to lift the mood at Tottenham, extending their rough patch of form to one win in eight matches.
This did not, admittedly, feel like a must-win game for Spurs – at least not in the same way as Sunday’s visit to rock-bottom Southampton and the Carabao Cup quarter-final at home to Manchester United next Thursday – and Postecoglou can probably be relieved to have escaped from enemy territory with a point and no (obvious) fresh injuries.
Spurs’ limp performance, especially for the first hour, will be a concern to the head coach, however, while a third straight European match without a win leaves Spurs in a slightly precarious position in the Europa League.
They remain outside the top eight and probably need to win their final two matches against Hoffenheim and IF Elfsborg to definitely avoid a hugely unwanted two-legged play-off in February.
As Spurs stutter in the league, the cups grow in importance and, if Postecoglou's side remain in mid-table, it will be much easier to feel positive about their season if they continue to progress in the domestic cups and are safely through to the Europa League knockouts.
Spurs too reliant on Kulusevski and Solanke
Postecoglou described Spurs’ current injury crisis as the worst he has faced in a 30-year coaching career, with the Australian without six injured players for his return to Glasgow.
But Spurs still had more than enough quality in the XI to see off Rangers, particularly with Philippe Clement’s side preparing for a cup final on Sunday.
The visitors, though, were abject for the first hour of the game and had Fraser Forster to thank (again) for keeping them in the match.
The goalkeeper made a string of fine saves before Kulusevski’s equaliser, and denied Rangers what would surely have been a late winner with a brilliant stop from Cyriel Dessers.
At the other end, Brennan Johnson, Timo Werner and Heung-min Son were desperately ineffective as a front three, offering nothing in the way of fight and thrust.
The introduction of Dominic Solanke on the hour helped to give Spurs a focal point up front and a foothold in the game, and it was the England striker who squared for fellow substitute Kulusevski to level the game with a cool first-time finish.
It is, though, concerning how reliant Spurs are on the pair, leaving Postecoglou effectively unable to rest Kulusevski and Solanke without an alarming drop-off in his side.
With Wilson Odobert, Richarlison and Mikey Moore not expected to be available until the New Year, Spurs need some of their other players to start stepping up.
Gray and Dragusin shaky
The absence of Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Ben Davies left the Spurs manager to rely on Radu Dragusin and teenager Archie Gray at centre-back – for the first of what is likely to be a mini run in the team for the pair.
Gray, who hails from a Celtic-supporting family, has caught the eye in this competition this season although this was an occasionally difficult night for the 18-year-old.
While he did not look out of place, Gray was skinned by Dessers late on, with Forster’s outstretched foot sparing Spurs’ blushes.
Dragusin, meanwhile, was shaky again, more than once inviting pressure with loose passes out from the back and lucky to avoid a second yellow card for a clumsy late challenge.
No one for Spurs was at their best, to be fair, and Gray and Dragusin are capable of raising their levels – but much sterner tests lie ahead, starting on Sunday.
