Joe Hart slams ‘lazy’ Bergvall after ‘calamitous’ Tottenham moment v AZ Alkmaar
Joe Hart hit out at Tottenham for their tendency to shoot themselves in the foot as they beat AZ Alkmaar 3-1 in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday.
Tottenham booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Europa League after earning a 3-2 victory over the Eredivisie outfit on aggregate.
However, Ange Postecoglou’s side did not make it easy for themselves as they lost 1-0 in the first leg and also allowed Alkmaar a way back into the game when they were leading 2-0 on 13 March.
Miscommunication from Wilson Odobert and Lucas Bergvall saw Peer Koopmeiners find the back of the net for the visitors, who thus went 2-2 level on aggregate in the tie.
Odobert, though, rectified his own mistake by putting Spurs back in front minutes later.
Hart hits out at Bergvall after Koopmeiners goal
Reacting to the goal live on commentary, Hart pointed out that there was no way Alkmaar should have had a goalscoring chance in that instance after Archie Gray initially managed to deal with the threat.
The former goalkeeper was impressed by how Gray kept ex-Spurs attacker Troy Parrott at bay, although his work was then undone by Odobert and Bergvall.
He described the goal as “calamitous” and went on to hit out at Bergvall for being complacent and “lazy”.
“There’s always been that threat in the game for Tottenham”, Hart said on TNT Sports (13 March, 9:21 pm).
“No matter how well they’re playing, they look like they’re just going to shoot themselves in the foot.
“That ball was dealt with. Archie Gray got back, did what he needed to do, held up Troy Parrott. Gray just slightly caught out, he gets back in, gets goal-side, gives Troy Parrott no options and here you think it’s done.
“Odobert filling in, it’s calamitous really. Really, really, really slack. Bergvall, been enjoying his performance all night, just got lazy.
“Really, really good finish, though. Got his chance and jeez, did he take it? Absolutely no chance! Riffles it into that bottom corner.”
Bergvall, a standout performer for Tottenham
The lapse of concentration in the lead-up to Koopmeiners’ goal does not take anything away from Bergvall’s overall performance against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday.
| Minutes Played | Accurate Passes | Chances Created | Touches | Successful Dribbles | Ground Duels Won |
| 84 | 44/48 (92%) | 1 | 66 | 3/3 | 7/7 |
The Sweden international produced a matured performance in the middle of the park for Postecoglou’s side, winning more duels than any other player in the game (7), according to FotMob.
He registered 66 touches and played 44 passes with 92 per cent accuracy while completing all three of the dribbles he attempted.
Bergvall was also heavily involved in the defensive side of things, making five interceptions and eight recoveries.