Brentford 0 Tottenham 0: Spurs’ top-four hopes dented as Eriksen inspires Bees to draw against former side

CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN ran the show to put a dent in the Champions League charge of his old side Tottenham.

Arsenal had laid down the gauntlet to their bitter rivals with victory over Manchester United, moving three points ahead of Spurs.

But Antonio Conte’s men could not match the Gunners’ result in West London and are now playing catch-up in the race for the top four.

It could have been even worse too if Ivan Toney had a bit more luck latching onto Eriksen’s terrific set-pieces, with the striker heading one such delivery against the post at the death.

While Eriksen himself also went agonisingly close on a couple of occasions against the team where he spent seven memorable, if trophyless, seasons in the 2010s.

Conte can be comforted by the fact that if his side win all their remaining matches, they will still make the Champions League.

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That is because they host Arsenal in the North London derby on May 12 which is set to be one of the hotly-anticipated fixtures of the season.

But they also have to travel to Anfield meaning that this slip-up, along with last week’s one at home to Brighton, could prove very costly indeed.

Eriksen’s return to football with Brentford has been the feel-good story of the season, half a year on from his cardiac arrest on the pitch at the Euros.

But what has taken some by surprise, including Conte, is how good Eriksen has been since coming back.

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And with the midfielder’s short-term deal in West London up in the summer, many Tottenham fans are hoping a fairytale return to their club could be on the cards.

He does not fit the profile of player Spurs generally target – younger, with more resale value – but on a free, it may be deemed too good a deal to pass up.

Eriksen’s performance here only made such a switch seem even more sensible.

The product of the Ajax academy was all smiles in the tunnel before kick-off, shaking hands with old team-mates Harry Kane, Eric Dier and Hugo Lloris.

But there was nothing pally about the way his corners threatened to dent his former side’s Champions League bid.

Twice in the opening quarter he picked out Toney deep in the box with a pinpoint set-piece, only for the striker’s volleys to be deflected wide by Cristian Romero.

In between those two chances came Brentford’s best of the first half which again came from an Eriksen-Toney corner combination.

The playmaker picked out his centre-forward who headed onto Emerson Royal’s back and the ball crashed against the crossbar.

But it was not just Eriksen’s set-piece delivery, he was also enjoying himself in open play too, spraying passes left and right.

Spurs meanwhile were sluggish and Conte grew increasingly frustrated on the touchline.

Kane was a peripheral figure in the first 45, and summed his half up with an attempt at a lofted shot which did not come off at all.

Tottenham came out for the second half showing far more urgency, suggesting their manager had had a few choice words to say during the interval.

Yet it was the hosts who again looked most likely to break the deadlock.

Bryan Mbeumo perhaps should have done better when Rico Henry picked him out but he blazed over.

Eriksen threatened to win it with a couple of near-misses just after the hour.

First, his dipping strike from just outside the box was deflected just wide after Dier had surrendered possession.

Then he almost caught out Lloris at his near post with a clever low effort, but the World Cup-winning keeper was up to the task and got down low to keep the ball out.

That chance came seconds after Pontus Jansson’s goalbound header was brilliantly cleared off the line by Kane.

Tottenham tried to turn the screw in the final ten minutes but were lucky not to lose it in the final seconds when Eriksen and Toney combined again.

The Dane whipped in a free-kick which Toney rose to head against the post, before Mbeumo hacked the rebound into the side netting.

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In the end the points were shared, but Spurs fans will have walked away thinking they could have had all three were their former hero Eriksen still playing for them.

Who knows, next season, maybe he will be.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk