Champions League hope springs eternal but for troubled Tottenham there is little left to lose

Tottenham head to Germany hoping for another European escapology act with a manager in desperate need of something positive to cling on to

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Jose Mourinho (AFP via Getty)

An unconvincing draw on the weekend away to a dogged side as their hyped manager unconvincingly balanced injuries to key players with an XI that were outshot by an opposition who do not score many. A season that promised much looks to be ending unfulfilled.

Yes, RB Leipzig made tough work of things away to Wolfsburg. And as they dropped points in yet another league fixture to drift away from the front, the usually charismatic Julian Nagelsmann was straight-faced in asking for a much different performance for Tuesday’s second-leg Champions League tie with Tottenham. Sort of.

If you are Spurs fans, those are some straws to clutch that may seem familiar.

Truthfully, though Leipzig did see their hopes of a Bundesliga title fade slightly with Bayern Munich stretching their lead to five points along with Timo Werner’s thigh injury, their north London opponents would trade sides in a heartbeat. Never mind it being greener - it's actually grass.

To be fighting at the top instead of scraping in 8th, slap bang in the middle of the mire that is seven off-European positions separated by just six points. To have just a query over their own devastating blonde-haired forward and not the certainty of knowing they will not see him any time soon. And of course, being 1-0 up with an away goal, too. Though judging by their opening 45 minutes against Burnley on Saturday, it would be a lead they wouldn't hold for long.

It says a lot that Nagelsmann’s assertion that Leipzig will be fine approaching this second leg as they did the first – “I hope we will start the game the same way like we did in Tottenham and then we've got a good chance to go in the next round” - does not even sound like over-confidence.

They probably should have scored more at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but at least left administering the psychological blows of skipping through Jose Mourinho’s blocks in midfield and defence with almost comical ease in the first half. It was only the visitors’ satisfaction in what they had after Werner’s penalty that kept this tie alive on their terms.

The spin around Mourinho is very much going one way. Only Liverpool and Manchester City have picked up as many as Tottenham’s 27 points since the 57-year old took over. But tactics and decorum has meant sympathy for working with an injury-ravage squad is seriously lacking.

As ever there’s a temptation to align the European Cup with him, but even his most recent “masterstrokes” have been ones of great fortune. The 2-1 win away to Juventus in his final few weeks at Manchester United, when the managerial Grim Reaper was lurking the corridors of Carrington, might hold some hope.

But we are at the stage now, with Spurs winless in their last five matches and dumped out of the FA Cup by Norwich, that taking something worthwhile from such a fluke is as fanciful and foolish as believing you’ll survive in a falling elevator if you remember to jump before it crashes to the ground.

The thing is though, it might actually be worth looking back to Spurs’ heroics in last season’s Champions League which came in spite of dire league form. No wins in three - including two defeats - were followed by a 1-0 away to Borussia Dortmund to take them through to the quarter-finals and then another two defeats. The heroics of Amsterdam were preceded by three humbling losses, including that first leg 0-1 at home to Ajax. The Champions League ended up being a more joyful experience to the league woes, like spending weekends with the fun parent, making the other five days just about worth the toil.

Maybe it is also worth remembering those results, coupled with the start to this season that saw Spurs 14th after 12 games, ultimately did for Mauricio Pochettino. Accepting that alone should buy the current incumbent time, no matter how disagreeable. But the decision to cut ties with Pochettino and appoint Mourinho remains contentious, even though there are some in favour of one but not the other.

What is for certain is right now is there are a great number of Spurs fans still staucnhly against both, and they are only gaining in number and volume. A progressive performance, never mind a progressive result, might at least keep a lid on the discontent. For all associated with the club this campaign, there is not much left to lose.