The look on Soldado’s face said it all. He wasn’t the only one as his team-mates tried to comprehend his decision. There was no open goal this time — but in many ways Thursday night’s gaffe was just as bad, if not worse.
Within 15 minutes, Soldado was trending on Twitter — above Madonna’s slip at the Brit Awards on Wednesday night. Had the striker done what a player worth £26million should, then Spurs might still be in the Europa League this morning. Instead, they head into Sunday’s Capital One Cup final against Chelsea on the back of this disappointing defeat.
However, Soldado shouldn’t shoulder all the blame for Thursday night’s defeat. Jan Vertonghen must also take his share of the flak.
Quite how the giant Belgian allowed the diminutive Mohamed Salah to outmuscle him in the box before firing Fiorentina into a 2-0 lead is a question Mauricio Pochettino — who didn’t look at Vertonghen when he was hauled off — will demand answers to.
Everyone, including Jose Mourinho, was looking for clues to Pochettino’s team selection ahead of Sunday’s Wembley showdown. And the Argentine, unlike his striker and centre half, didn’t disappoint. Harry Kane, Kyle Walker, Danny Rose and Ryan Mason were all left on the bench — a clear indication they will start at Wembley.
Nevertheless, this was a bold team selection by Pochettino. Imagine if Christian Eriksen had limped off?
The decision to start Eriksen was a risk but it nearly paid off inside 12 minutes when he fell in the box under Stefan Savic’s rash challenge. He appealed for a penalty but to no avail. However, replays showed he did have a case.
It was the talking point of a frenetic opening 20 minutes, which saw Eriksen, Milan Badelj and Claudio Pizarro all fail with long-range efforts.
Tottenham certainly weren’t overawed, looking to nullify Fiorentina’s away goal in the 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane from the outset.
And they would have had it in the 29th minute had it not been for Soldado’s ineptitude following Erik Lamela’s defence-splitting through-ball.
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