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Doherty’s dismay
Matt Doherty admitted he and his Tottenham team-mates were left in a state of shock after late VAR drama marred their 1-1 Champions League draw with Sporting.
Spurs thought they had snatched a crucial victory in the dying seconds of Wednesday’s encounter, only for Harry Kane’s strike to be ruled out following a painful four-minute check from video officials.
The England skipper was eventually adjudged to have been in an offside position — a decision which led to boss Antonio Conte being sent off and left his players angry and confused.
Speaking exclusively to LiveScore, Doherty said: “I need to look at the rulebook again because I think we’re all pretty confused.
“I was under the impression the ball went backwards and then hit one of their players on the hand and then went forward again.
“That was a different phase of play, maybe? I don’t know. I’m a bit confused but I guess VAR thinks it’s offside, so we’ve got to go with that decision and respect it.”
The result means Spurs still have their Champions League fate in their own hands, though defeat in Marseille next week would see them crash out of the competition.
Having improved markedly in the game’s latter stages after a slow start, 30-year-old Doherty has called on his team-mates to deliver a more complete performance in the south of France.
The Irish international added: “We’re still top of the group and it’s in our own hands still. But we’re disappointed at how we performed.
“We want to perform like we did in the second half but for 90 minutes. We wanted to do the business tonight.
“We managed to fight our way back into the game. We know it’s going to be a huge atmosphere. It’s going to be a huge game for us.”
Kepa’s strength
Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta has paid tribute to the mental strength of his reinvigorated team-mate Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The Basque stopper, 28, became football’s most expensive goalkeeper in 2018 but has endured a torrid time at Stamford Bridge, losing the No1 jersey to Edouard Mendy in 2020.
Yet since Graham Potter replaced former boss Thomas Tuchel last month, Kepa has featured in all nine of the Blues’ matches and conceded just four goals in the process.
Azpilicueta told Chelsea’s website: “I’m really happy for him. Of course, he has had tough moments but the strength from him is to always stay positive and to train hard every day.
“We know as a player that you want to play all the time but the manager makes the decision. As a goalkeeper, it is a unique position where I cannot say much because they train on their own a lot of times.
“They spend a lot of time together, so it is a very rare position with their own pressure. They are the last man in goal so every mistake is very watchable and a lot of people criticise them.
“It shows his mentality to be strong and keep working hard for his chance.”
