Security may be under scrutiny in the French capital after the Paris jewel heist, but Tottenham made it out of the Principality of Monaco with another precious Champions League point in the stash bag.
It was a feat largely down to Guglielmo Vicario, the goalkeeper who produced a fabulous series of saves as the hosts peppered his goal with 23 shots, the best of them late in the game from Jordan Teze. Perhaps they can get him a job at the Louvre.
Thomas Frank’s side were far from fluent and created little. They worked hard to protect their clean sheet, however, remain unbeaten away from home this season and have five points from their first three games, two of them away from home.
This was their first goalless draw in 125 games since March 2023 against AC Milan and a Champions League exit in the last 16 under Antonio Conte.
Daily Mail Sport’s MATT BARLOW was at the Stade Louis II to run the rule over Spurs.
Tottenham produced a sub-par display but earned a point with a goalless draw at Monaco
Guglielmo Vicario was Tottenham’s best player – with the goalkeeper making a string of saves
Midfield enigma
Having pleaded pre match for patience with Xavi Simons, Spurs boss Thomas Frank opted to start without his £52million summer signing and recalled Lucas Bergvall as he gave his midfield shape a little tweak.
Frank started with with Palhinha as the deepest of the trio, flanked to the right by Rodrigo Bentancur and the left by Bergvall, who has quickly become a favourite with the fans, but does have a habit of taking risks on the ball in defensive areas.
The Swedish teenager was caught out on the edge of his own penalty area as Monaco made a strong start to the game. Guglielmo Vicario came to the rescue with the first of three first-half saves to deny former Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun.
Vicario has come in for criticism since his return from the broken ankle suffered last year, but here he stood up manfully to the pressure. He frustrated Balogun through the early exchanges and scrambled back to clear a miscued cross from Maghnes Akliouche which was drifting over his head and appeared set to drop inside the far post.
Midway through the first half, in a bid to establish a foothold in the contest, Frank realigned his midfield trio. He pulled Bentancur slightly deeper, in alongside Palhinha and released Bergvall as more of an orthodox No 10 giving his team more of a 4-2-3-1 shape than the 4-3-3 they started with, but Monaco continued to dominate.
Thomas Frank’s tactical tweaks didn’t arrest the slide in Monaco as the hosts continued on top
Creative quest
Richarlison was back up front, replacing Mathys Tel who has not been selected for their UEFA Champions League squad. Spurs were without 10 senior players through a combination to a lengthening injury list and those not available because Spurs has failed to plan properly to maximise their quotas.
The Brazilian had scored only one in 10 in club colours since two against Burnley on the opening day of the season and was feeding off scraps in the first half. Tottenham found it difficult to play through their hosts.
One sharp chance came Richarlison’s way, collecting a pass from Wilson Odobert as he eased onto his left foot, but Monaco defenders were quick to crowd him out before he could shoot.
Odobert looked bright with the solidity of Archie Gray behind him at left back. Gray’s opportunities have been limited under Frank but he made his usual intelligent contribution, making good defensive decisions and supporting his winger in attack.
Frank’s team found it difficult to contain Akliouche who caused problems in the area between Micky van de Ven, the left-sided centre-half and Gray.
Tottenham’s main attacking threat came from set pieces, including Kevin Danso’s long throws, and when they managed to keep Monaco pinned into their own defensive third after a set piece. Danso and Micky van de Ven were also a threat in the air.
Richarlison started up front for Tottenham but endured another fruitless performance in attack
Incremental progress…
Monaco held Manchester City to a draw last month, although much has happened since. They have slipped to seventh in the French league and changed head coaches, with former West Bromwich Albion left back Sebastien Pocognoli, who won the Belgian title with Union Saint Gilloise, brought in to replace Adi Hutter.
Pocognoli started with a draw at Angers on Saturday and will be furious his team did not find a goal against Spurs. Vicario was inspired in the Tottenham but there were enough chances for the home side. Takumi Minamino squandered a flurry of them after coming on.
Frank will reflect on the strength of the defensive display but must finetune the balance of his team. The Champions League tie is at home against Copenhagen before they travel to face champions Paris Saint-Germain, who scored seven at Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.
Spurs held them in the Super Cup but PSG are purring again and that promises to be a thorough test of their defensive mettle. It will help if they can beat Copenhagen at home and go to France with eight points on the board.
