Spursex
Alert Team
Jan Vertonghen says Spurs took 'energy' from Chelsea losing to seal Champions League spot
Tottenham were lifted by news Chelsea were trailing at half-time Credit: Getty Images
10 May 2018 • 12:00pm
Jan Vertonghen said the Tottenham Hotspur players were able to turn around their nervy encounter with Newcastle United because they were boosted by the news that Chelsea were trailing to Huddersfield Town.
Tottenham sealed qualification for next year’s Champions League with victory over Newcastle at Wembley, but were jeered off at half-time after an anxious first half in which the visitors missed four clear chances.
In the dressing room at the break, Vertonghen said the news that Huddersfield had taken the lead against Chelsea, who needed to win to keep the pressure on Tottenham until the final day of the season, provided the squad with a lift that allowed them to push on and win the game through Harry Kane’s 50th-minute winner.
“At half time, I think we were happy it was 0-0,” said Vertonghen. “Harry had a big chance but apart from that Newcastle had a couple of good ones. It was ‘OK, it’s still 0-0, one goal is enough’ and then we heard about Chelsea being down 1-0.
“We took some energy from that and the second half was a lot better. Not as dominant as we usually play but more control.
“Someone said it. I don’t even know who I heard it from but we took energy from that because we knew if we had a better result than Chelsea it was a good day for us.”
Tottenham have now qualified for the Champions League for the third consecutive season, and will finish this season as the Premier League’s highest-placed London club for the first time since 1995.
Vertonghen, who said this has been his most consistent season on an individual level, added that the club was “definitely” making progress, despite the ongoing wait for a major trophy.
Victory over Real Madrid in this season's Champions League provided evidence of their quality, while Tottenham dominated Juventus for large spells of their meeting in the knockout stages.
“Maybe you didn’t really see it in the league this season because we were that good at White Hart Lane last season, but I think you can see it especially in the Champions League that we've grown there,” the defender said.
“Last season we struggled against Monaco, Bayer Leverkusen, and this year we've done very well. I think we deserved to go through against Juventus but we take that experience into next year.
“I think Tottenham is in a very good place. You always ask me whether we need to win a trophy and I always say you need to win one trophy to win a lot more. I just think we need our first one and the rest will follow.”
10 May 2018 • 12:00pm
Jan Vertonghen said the Tottenham Hotspur players were able to turn around their nervy encounter with Newcastle United because they were boosted by the news that Chelsea were trailing to Huddersfield Town.
Tottenham sealed qualification for next year’s Champions League with victory over Newcastle at Wembley, but were jeered off at half-time after an anxious first half in which the visitors missed four clear chances.
In the dressing room at the break, Vertonghen said the news that Huddersfield had taken the lead against Chelsea, who needed to win to keep the pressure on Tottenham until the final day of the season, provided the squad with a lift that allowed them to push on and win the game through Harry Kane’s 50th-minute winner.
“At half time, I think we were happy it was 0-0,” said Vertonghen. “Harry had a big chance but apart from that Newcastle had a couple of good ones. It was ‘OK, it’s still 0-0, one goal is enough’ and then we heard about Chelsea being down 1-0.
“We took some energy from that and the second half was a lot better. Not as dominant as we usually play but more control.
“Someone said it. I don’t even know who I heard it from but we took energy from that because we knew if we had a better result than Chelsea it was a good day for us.”
Tottenham have now qualified for the Champions League for the third consecutive season, and will finish this season as the Premier League’s highest-placed London club for the first time since 1995.
Vertonghen, who said this has been his most consistent season on an individual level, added that the club was “definitely” making progress, despite the ongoing wait for a major trophy.
Victory over Real Madrid in this season's Champions League provided evidence of their quality, while Tottenham dominated Juventus for large spells of their meeting in the knockout stages.
“Maybe you didn’t really see it in the league this season because we were that good at White Hart Lane last season, but I think you can see it especially in the Champions League that we've grown there,” the defender said.
“Last season we struggled against Monaco, Bayer Leverkusen, and this year we've done very well. I think we deserved to go through against Juventus but we take that experience into next year.
“I think Tottenham is in a very good place. You always ask me whether we need to win a trophy and I always say you need to win one trophy to win a lot more. I just think we need our first one and the rest will follow.”
