Spurs forced to take hard route in Champions League again after defeat to RB Leipzig

Tottenham Hotspur's Steven Bergwijn (left) is challenged by RB Leipzig's Marcel Sabitzer. Picture: John Walton/PA | PA Wire

Tottenham will again have to do it the hard way in the Champions League after they suffered a 1-0 home defeat in the first leg of their last-16 tie with RB Leipzig.

Spurs’ run to the final last season was full of great escapes and comeback wins and they will need another after Timo Werner’s second-half penalty gave the Bundesliga side a deserved win in their first ever knockout game in this competition.

It also sees 32-year-old Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann, who has been dubbed ‘Baby Mourinho’ and is a rising star of European football, gain the edge over the man he has been named after.

But Spurs boss Jose Mourinho will claim this was not a fair fight as he was without two of his best attacking players, with the loss Son Heung-min on the eve of the match adding to that of Harry Kane.

Tottenham Hotspur's Dele Alli reacts badly to being substituted as manager Jose Mourinho (right) looks on. Picture: John Walton/PA | PA Wire

The defeat would have been much worse had Hugo Lloris not produced a number of vital saves to keep Leipzig at bay, while Spurs struggled for clear opportunities at the other end.

Giovani Lo Celso had the best of them as his free-kick was turned on to the post, but it was a frustrating night for Mourinho.

Spurs will look to last season’s semi-final, where they turned around a similar first-leg defeat to Ajax with a dramatic night in Amsterdam, and there is the sense that something similar will be required in Leipzig.

Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris called on Tottenham not to spend time looking for excuses as they bid to turn the tie on its head.

“After all that’s happened in the last few months and weeks, we need to keep positive. It’s not the time to give up or find excuses,” said Lloris. “We need to fight until the end. We don’t have time to think too much.”