Tottenham goes down 1-0 AZ Alkmaar; Lucas Bergvall own goal

Ange Postecoglou's bold trophy claim is at serious risk of falling over after Tottenham went down 1-0 in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16.

Spurs are down 1-0 against AZ Alkmaar after a first half own goal by Lucas Bergvall proved costly on Friday morning (Australian time).

They must now win next week's second leg to keep their trophy hunt alive.

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Postecoglou declared earlier this season he typically wins a trophy in his second campaign in charge of a team. His chances of doing so with Spurs are running thin.

"Not a great night for us. Obviously a disappointing result, but a really disappointing performance," Postecoglou said after the loss on Friday.

Ange Postecoglou, manager of Tottenham Hotspur. Getty

"Just never got a grip of the game, we didn't really get control at any stage, we were always struggling both on the ball and without the ball.

"It was a tricky pitch and we didn't really handle it well. We weren't aggressive enough, we were way too passive with the way we wanted to press. And we were circling the ball with no real intent to hurt them.

"Collectively we were nowhere near the level we needed to be, and that's the thing we need to address."

Critics have not been easy on Postecoglou or his Spurs this season.

Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O'Hara was scathing in his assessment of Friday's performance.

"Tottenham were miles off it," he told Sky Sports.

"Tottenham's big players didn't turn up.

"It feels like Tottenham are going out of the competition with a whimper.

"Tottenham have shown nothing. There's been no creativity."

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Lucas Bergvall's own goal. Getty

Former Tottenham manager Glenn Hoddle called the performance "lacklustre".

Postecoglou's men had a chance in the late stages of added time to grab an equaliser but Wilson Odobert's header went over the bar.

Tottenham was lucky to walk away with a one-goal deficit as AZ Alkmaar was the better team and applied pressure throughout.

Tottenham only had one shot on target all night and will now look to pile on the pressure with their attacking style to overcome the 1-0 deficit next week in the second leg at home, which will be played at 7am AEDT next Friday.

The own goal from Bergvall occurred during the first corner of the match as he tried to clear it but instead shanked it high, catching his gloveman off guard.

Tottenham had beaten the Dutch team 1-0 in the league phase at home in October.

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