How many points will Tottenham need to reach Champions League knockout stage?
Tottenham will already be doing the maths as they plot a way through to the next stage of the Champions League.
Tottenham are off to a mixed start in their Champions League campaign, drawing with AS Monaco on Wednesday night to make it two draws and a win from their first three games. Thomas Frank’s men lacked intensity by the Dane’s own admission on Wednesday night and wound up conceding 23 shots in all, but they held on for an important point.
The result follows a draw with Bodo/Glimt and a win over Villarreal, and you can certainly argue that we have not seen the best of Tottenham in the Champions League so far this season.
Frank has said as much. He said on Wednesday night: “It was a game that was relatively even in the first half, but then in the second half, Monaco were better than us and we didn’t have the performance we want. I think we lacked a bit of intensity overall, especially in the second half and that combined with a day where too many players didn’t hit a good enough level, that can happen.
“I think we are learning in the Champions League, and every game in the Champions League is difficult, especially away games, against a good Monaco side - a Monaco side I said, before the game, which I also think it's fair to say they had the best half in the season against us, but fair play to them.
“Then the ability for us to compete in the Premier League and then in the Champions League is a challenge we’re up for and want. I also think it's fair to say last year we finished 17th and competed in the Europa League, so we are taking it step by step, and it's not the worst thing on a bad day to get a point and a clean sheet. I think today the clean sheet was down to a few things, but a big thing down to Vicario, I think he played a fantastic game.”
How many points do Tottenham need to progress?
Tottenham are now on five points after three games, with five league phase games still to play. In this modern format of the Champions League, eight teams qualify automatically for the knockout stages and those who finish ninth to 24th head into the play-off round to fight it out for the chance to play one of those top eight teams in the next round.
In this format of the Champions League, we only have one season to go off to give us an idea of how many points Tottenham need to progress. Last season, it took 11 points from Club Brugge and a goal difference of minus four to make it into the last play-off spot, though 11 points and a goal difference of minus six would have been sufficient to beat Dinamo Zagreb to that last spot.
As far as the top eight goes, Aston Villa got in with 16 points, beating out ninth-placed Atalanta, who had 15 points and an impressive goal difference of 14.
That means Spurs roughly need two wins from their last five, based on last season, to be in with a good chance of grabbing a playoff spot, while they need to find 11 points or so to make it into the top eight.
Frank’s men have Copenhagen at home, PSG away, Slavia Praha at home, Borussia Dortmund at home and Eintracht Frankfurt away. Even the most conservative of fans should be able to see a six-point return from those fixtures, and 11 points may also be achievable if Spurs can take care of the easier opponents and the German clubs, with the PSG fixture looking particularly difficult.
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