The Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has said that complacency was not the problem in the recent Europa league match against Panathinaikos. The Premier league club were taking on the Greek club in the group stages of the Europa league looking to get their first win of the season. However, they were once again denied a chance to victory after they could only manage a 1-1 draw in the match. The Greek club was extremely organised in defence, while also being very penetrative in attack. This combination meant that Tottenham could not get past them despite having much better players in the form of Jermain Defoe, Gareth Bale, and Aaron Lennon.

Panathinaikos are currently 12th in the Greek league and are not expected to finish in the European places this time around. However, they showed that they are looking to make the most out of the chance to compete in the European competition by playing well in the group stages and progressing to the next round. There are currently in a group containing the likes of Lazio and Tottenham, which makes it extremely difficult for them to think about the next round. Michael Dawson scored after just 35 min, but it took a goal from Toché to equalise the match in the 77 min.

“I don’t think we were complacent. We have to give credit to Panathinaikos; they pressed much more and started to gain belief from that, which led to the goal. I think the whole team felt a bit disappointed because the first half was so positive and we were in control of the situation. We were a bit sloppy in the second half. I understand the disappointment at not putting the game to bed,” said the Tottenham manager after the match. Tottenham will now focus on their attention in the Premier league.