Gent 1 Tottenham 0: Spurs suffer shock defeat in Belgium as Jeremy Perbet scores winner in Europa League clash
Mauricio Pochettino's side are winless in their last five games against Belgian opposition with three defeats
TOTTENHAM slumped away from home to Gent in the last 32 of the Europa League as Jeremy Perbet scored the decisive goal.
Mauricio Pochettino's men face an uphill task in the return leg at White Hart Lane after struggling to trouble their opponents at the Ghelamco Arena.
Spurs were lacklustre and lethargic in the opening 45 minutes but Mauricio Pochettino's side sprang to life after the interval.
Keep up to date with ALL the Tottenham news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club pages plus fixtures, results and live match commentary
Following the increased intensity Harry Kane spurned a huge opportunity as his effort hit the inside of the post after the ball broke to the England international.
But despite Spurs' improvement, Gent took the lead against the run of play in the 59th minute through Jeremy Perbet.
Danijel Milicevic picked out the goalscorer, whose initial effort was blocked before he slotted home the loose ball, stunning Pochettino's side.
The Argentinian boss summoned first-team regulars Son Heung-Min and Christian Eriksen, along with Georges-Kévin N'Koudou from the bench, but the trio failed to make an impact.
FACTS, STATS, GOALS AND LOLS
- MAURICIO POCHETTINO fielded a strong team – only really resting Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min. The Spurs boss clearly intended to get the bulk of the job done here in Belguim.
- HOW did Spurs respond to the Saido Mane super show at Liverpool on Saturday? Not very well at all. For long periods, they just did not seem at the races at all and Harry Kane barely got a touch.
- SAMUEL GIGOT should have buried a fantastic chance after 19 minutes but mis-hit a shot wide.
- Worrying, how Kyle Walker was appealing for offside allowing Gigot the chance. Play to the whistle, Kyle.
- HARRY KANE will be cursing himself after hitting a post after turning two defenders and shooting. He should have done a lot better – and his face told you as much.
- HOW long will it be before we see THREE-DIGIT squad numbers? Swiss midfielder Danijel Milicevic wore 77 here for Gent. Surely they don’t have that big a squad.
- MOUSA DEMBELE completely messed up an effort by scuffing a shot wide after Kane teed him up after defender Thomas Foket made a hash of clearing Harry Wink’s cross.
- DANIJEL MILICEVIC had his big chance to stun Spurs but shot well wide when the ball when the ball fell to him just inside the area.
- JEREMY PERBET got the better of Eric Dier and Ben Davies before burying home Gent’s winner.
- COULD have been a lot worse for Spurs had Stefan Mitrovic’s not headed over the bar.
- And Spurs had yet another let-off after Milicevic fired against a post with the North Londoners all over the shop.
- NEXT weekend’s Premier League clash with Stoke is massive for Tottenham – but so is Sunday’s FA Cup game against Fulham. The club have not won any silverware since 2008 and Mauricio Pochettino is yet to land a major trophy as a manager.