Inter Milan vs Tottenham: Harry Kane's struggles continue as Italian giants expose familiar Spurs failings

Inter Milan 2-1 Tottenham: Mauro Icardi and Matias Vecino break Spurs hearts after Christian Eriksen put them on course for victory at San Siro

Tottenham suffered their third defeat in a row as two goals in the dying minutes saw Inter Milan roar back from a goal down to triumph at San Siro on Tuesday.

Mauricio Pochettino's men controlled much of the match and deservedly took the lead on 53 minutes when Christian Eriksen's shot beat Samir Handanovic with the help of a deflection.

But after missing several chances to put the game beyond doubt, Spurs were pegged back by Mauro Icardi's superb volley and beaten in injury time by Matias Vecino's header.

Here are five things we learned from the match:

Mauro Icardi celebrates his equalising volley (Reuters)

Tottenham need a breather – in every sense

More than any other top club, Tottenham attract solemn predictions of doom with every setback. To many, Liverpool’s comprehensive victory at Wembley on Saturday was not merely a flexing of their own Premier League title credentials, but further proof of the unbreakable glass ceiling of finance and history that will prevent Spurs from reaching the pinnacle and ultimately break them up.

The reality is more nuanced, of course, but the problem Pochettino has is that we live in a world where perception often becomes reality. Tottenham may simply be going through the kind of rough patch every team experiences from time to time, but three defeats in a row will do nothing to alleviate the sense of foreboding created by a summer of non-investment and World Cup exertion.

Having controlled the second half at San Siro, it was hard to escape the conclusion that Tottenham tired mentally and physically as Inter rallied in the final five minutes; there was even the rare sight of Kane being substituted before Vecino nodded in the winner.

They look like a team urgently in need of a break – not just from football, but from bad news.

(Getty Images (Getty Images)

These new kick-off times will take some getting used to

The logic is obvious. With two Champions League games per match day kicking off earlier than the rest, people are able to watch more of Europe’s elite club competition live, which should translate into greater viewing figures and ultimately more TV revenue. In fact, it makes so much sense that it’s astonishing Uefa didn’t think to tweak the group stage format before this year.

But it all feels a little Europa League, doesn’t it? Even the Inter and Tottenham players seemed a little bemused, squinting into the sun still hovering resolutely in the Milan sky as they lined up on the pitch ahead of kick-off, with the familiar but slightly incongruous sound of Zadok the Priest reverberating around San Siro.

Football isn’t great at change. Before long it will likely be abundantly clear that early kick-offs for games that aren’t being played in sub-zero Russian temperatures is a great idea, and perhaps all it will take to hammer home the point is one high-octane thriller. But for now it’s a little jarring.

Christian Eriksen celebrates his deflected strike (Getty Images)

Eriksen is Tottenham’s best player right now

The threadbare – or ‘streamlined’, depending on whether or not you are Pochettino – nature of Tottenham’s squad means their margin for error in attack shrinks to almost zero when Harry Kane is struggling. Deprived of Dele Alli too, as they were against Inter, Spurs’ hopes of winning rest almost entirely on the slender shoulders of Eriksen.

Fortunately for them, the Dane has become a genuine superstar for club and country over the last two years, consistently clear-minded and decisive. He produced the lone moment of quality in a scrappy and tedious first half, clipping a perfect pass that Kane managed to fumble out of play as he attempted to round Samir Handanovic.

There was a healthy slice of fortune to his goal, heavily deflected off Miranda before looping over Handanovic, but it was a fitting reward for the typical quick thinking that enabled him to react fastest when his own parried shot found its way back to him. Tottenham are the truly lucky ones to be able to count on a match-winner of such devastating elegance.

(AFP/Getty Images (AFP/Getty Images)

Inter’s road back to the European elite will be long

It’s a pleasure to see a club of Inter’s pedigree back in the Champions League, and remarkable to realise that their absence stretched back to 2012. San Siro was a swaying sea of blue and black, roaring at every tackle and forward surge; all the more of a pity, then, that their team were incapable of providing anything beyond sweat and toil.

There can be no denying that Inter under Luciano Spalletti are a hard-working side, relentlessly crowding their opponents and fighting tooth and nail for every loose ball. But their passing fell woefully short of their pressing, even with Marcelo Brozovic, Radja Nainggolan and Vecino patrolling midfield.

Once their energy levels dipped and Eriksen began to find pockets of space, Tottenham looked a class above. At the other end Icardi was a smothered spectator until his moment of brilliance; in future he will need much better service than he received here. But for his intervention, Inter would already look destined for the Europa League.

(Getty) (Man Utd via Getty)

Questions remain over Pochettino as a big-game tactician

After being comprehensively out-manoeuvred by Jurgen Klopp on Saturday, Pochettino looked keen to re-assert his strategic chops against Inter. Kieran Trippier and Toby Alderweireld were left at home for "technical reasons" and when Tottenham lined up on the pitch, Erik Lamela was deployed centrally in close proximity to Kane.

The plan worked well for 85 minutes. Trippier's replacement, Serge Aurier, dealt well with the threat of Ivan Perisic and Lamela was a nuisance running with the ball in central areas. Lucas Moura's introduction for Son Heung-Min on 64 minutes also allowed Spurs to stretch Inter with fresh, quick legs.

But with his final substitution, bringing on Harry Winks for Lamela, Pochettino invited pressure just as Inter were in the mood to apply it. He got a little unlucky, but fortune is something that the very best tacticians neither rely upon nor hide behind.