Football news - Tottenham out of the FA Cup, Eric Dier into the stands - The Warm-Up
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Updated 05/03/2020 at 18:28 GMT
Tottenham make a mess of things, but City and Leicester advance to the quarter-finals
Eric Dier of Tottenham Hotspur is seen speaking to Tottenham Hotspur fans in the stands following his teams defeat in the FA Cup Fifth Round match between Tottenham Hotspur and Norwich City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Image credit: Getty Images
THURSDAY’S BIG STORIES
Oh when the Spurs go wading in
They may not be particularly good, in any of the normal senses of the words, but right now Spurs are one of the most engagingly weird football teams on the planet. Last night they played relegation certainties Norwich City at home in the FA Cup …
… and yet if you’d turned in knowing nothing about anything, you’d have assumed that the lads in white were the ones in relegation trouble, playing away from home against a better team. They nicked a goal from a set piece, then they sat deep and invited their opponents to break them down.
Should have worked, mind. Norwich aren’t great. But then backup-to-the-backup keeper Michel Vorm spilled a straight one, the Canaries pounced, and a late Spurs rally couldn’t prevent extra time and then penalties. And it would take a bigger, better, less weird group to overcome Tim Krul from the penalty mark. What a delightfully irritating goalkeeper he is.
Fortunately for Spurs, they are blessed with a maverick political genius in their ranks. No, not Jose Mourinho: Eric Dier. In accordance with the “dead cat” theory of political distraction, which calls for spectacular distraction at moments of crisis, Dier took the heat off his comrades by charging into the stands after the game to confront a fan. Straight over the chairs, too. After 120 minutes and a penalty shootout. Strength in those legs.
Apparently somebody had insulted him, or his brother, or one in the hearing of the other, or something. Making the most of the morbid tabby he’d been presented with, Mourinho backed his player, rallied the fans, and took a swipe at the prawn sandwich brigade. Wait, no. We need to update that. The cheese room brigade:
I think Eric did what we professionals cannot do but probably every one of us would do. […] I think a lot of corporate, a lot of invitation, a lot of people with special status [are in there] and probably it is the place of the stadium where I sometimes have doubts over if they are the real Tottenham fans, because these [real fans] are the ones who support the boys until the last.
Subtle. Real subtle.
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'Dier did something we cannot do' - Mourinho on altercation with fan
Could it be magic? No
Elsewhere, the other giants remained resolutely unkilled and their fans peacefully untroubled. Sergio Aguero scored the only goal of the game as Manchester City, dressed in highlighter yellow subtly matched with highlighter pink, overcame Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
We were watching Spurs so we don’t know for sure, but we’re going to guess that Wednesday were tidy enough, and maybe even achieved plucky, but were ultimately undone by a moment of quality and a piece of soft goalkeeping. Seems likely.
As for Leicester City, they beat Birmingham City by the same scoreline. We’re going to assume that both sides poured forward with an abandon that would make Kevin Keegan blush, but were frustrated by two goalkeepers having Football Manager-like super-games, and that ultimately this was the greatest 1-0 that nobody actually watched.
IN OTHER NEWS
You know, Kylian Mbappe’s Proper Ronaldo impression really is very, very good.
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Watch Mbappe score incredible solo goal against Lyon
RETRO CORNER
Fine, fine. You never really need an excuse to watch this video, but since we mentioned Ronaldo just a moment ago, we’ve got one anyway. Here’s the goals from that single season at Barcelona, in which he went through the defences of La Liga with all the futuristic, merciless destruction of a Terminator.
HAT TIP
Some games postponed. Others going ahead. Some behind closed doors; some in front of fans. Soldiers standing around in masks. If you’re a little confused as to how exactly Italian football is coping with the spread of the coronavirus, well, you’re not the only one. James Horncastle pokes through the chaos for The Athletic.
AC Milan have closed the club’s museum, sent kids home from the academy (as they are not professionals) and called a halt to construction work at the training ground. Contact with external parties is being limited, which is why Stefano Pioli’s pre-match press conference was cancelled last week. He ended up speaking to Milan TV instead.
COMING UP
Hold onto your narrative: it’s Manchester United against Wayne Rooney (and some other Derby County players, whatever) in the FA Cup. Reckon we could be on for one of the all-time great muted celebrations. Elsewhere, the SheBelieves Cup kicks off in the USA with Spain facing Japan.
Here tomorrow to bring you the final judgement on this weird midweek FA Cup experiment, Tom Adams.
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