Ange Postecoglou has addressed his early substitution of Lucas Bergvall in Tottenham’s Europa League clash with Qarabag on Thursday.
The Spurs boss’ hand was forced when defender Radu Dragusin was shown a straight red card after just eight minutes after dragging down forward Juninho as he raced toward goal.
Shortly after, Bergvall was sacrificed to get Destiny Udogie onto the field in order to restore Spurs to a back four, with the Swedish wonderkid withdrawn after just 12 minutes and six touches of the ball.
Bergvall looked gutted as he left the field and downright furious sitting on the bench to watch the rest of the first half.
? Lucas Bergvall on the bench after being subbed. ???? pic.twitter.com/Y7eQfBkk16
— The Spurs Watch (September 26, 2024)
Postecoglou addresses Bergvall sub in Spurs win over Qarabag
Although Bergvall’s disappointment is understandable, somebody had to take the fall for Dragusin’s error as Postecoglou brought another defender onto the pitch.
Bergvall was the fall guy this time, but the 18-year-old’s talent is such that many more opportunities will come his way soon.
“That’s football,” Postecoglou responded when asked about Bergvall’s substitution after the match (via BBC Sport).
“He is 18 and he will get plenty more games. We needed an extra defender in there to make sure we had cover.
“An adjustment we needed to make – Lucas will get plenty of opportunities.”
On the Dragusin red card and a ‘sloppy’ start to the match, Postecoglou added: “Not ideal. I wasn’t happy as I felt we started really sloppy. We talked about starting with a high tempo and it was almost like the delay got to us.
“We were passive in our passing and when that happens someone switches off.
Top photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
