AS Monaco vs. Tottenham Hotspur, Match Report: Let's just pretend that didn't happen

When we saw the lineup that Tottenham Hotspur was going to play against Monaco at the Stade Louis II this afternoon many of us knew what the eventual result would be. Monaco were featuring new signings Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez, and Joao Moutinho. To counter that, Spurs started Jake Livermore and Zeki Fryers in central defense. It seemed that the eventual 5-2 thrashing that Spurs received was a certainty.

In fairness to Spurs, they weakened defense held Monaco for the first 45 minutes. Tottenham only trailed by one at the break and that one goal was an impressive volley from Andrea Raggi and a bit of an error from Hugo Lloris. Spurs, however, lost Jermain Defoe to injury early. The striker felt a twinge in his hamstring and went off early as a precaution.

The second half saw Lucas Ocampos come on for Monaco and the former River Plate player really livened things up scoring a goal and assisting another in the first three minutes of the second half. Harry Kane pulled one back for Spurs before Falcao scored again. Following another Monaco goal Andros Townsend got a consolation goal for Spurs.

Here's what I saw from Spurs:

• The central defensive pairing was bad. As a result the fullbacks didn't look that good and Hugo looked awful. If that pairing ever starts a competitive match for Spurs we're in trouble.
• The midfield looked pretty good. Gylfi Sigurdsson and Mousa Dembele played well.
• It was good to see Chadli make his debut. He looked a bit out of touch with his teammates, but he made some nice crosses and should be a good addition to the team.
• Harry Kane looked good at times, but wow did his first touch let him down on a few occasions.
• Townsend looked good in his short cameo. If Gareth Bale leaves then I see no reason why Townsend shouldn't be slotted into the team in his place.
• Spurs really need to get some of their first team players minutes in their last friendly against Espanyol. If Younes Kaboul, Sandro, Gareth Bale (if he's still with us), Paulinho, Lewis Holtby, and Roberto Soldado don't play some in the final friendly, then that first league match against Crystal Palace might be a bit nervy.