TOTTENHAM THRASHED, ARSENAL CRUSHED AND REAL LESSON FOR LIVERPOOL-ENGLISH CLUBS' HEAVIEST HOME CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DEFEATS.
Tottenham secured an unwanted record on Tuesday as they suffered a humiliating home loss at the hands of Bayern Munich in Champions League action.
The 7-2 result was the biggest margin of defeat for an English team at home in any European competition. It also equals the heaviest loss for Mauricio Pochettino as a manager, sitting alongside a 5-0 reverse he suffered against Real Madrid when in charge of Espanyol.
The crushing result leaves Spurs with a solitary point in Group B after two games, though they also made a slow start in the competition in the 2018-19 season but eventually made it all the way to the final.
Still, if they look back at the five worst home losses for English clubs in the Champions League era, at least Tottenham will see neighbours Arsenal included twice.
ARSENAL 0-3 INTER (September 2003)
While setting the pace in the Premier League early in the 2003-04 season, the Gunners suffered a painful experience in Europe at the hands of Inter. Julio Ricardo Cruz, Andy van der Meyde and Obafemi Martins scored the goals for the Serie A side at Highbury, with the hosts also seeing a Thierry Henry penalty saved by visiting goalkeeper Francesco Toldo.
Still, Arsene Wenger’s squad ended up topping the group as Inter finished third. While Arsenal saw their run in the competition ended by London rivals Chelsea at the quarter-final stage, they did go on to win the title in England.
LIVERPOOL 0-3 REAL MADRID (October 2014)
The Reds’ return to Europe’s top table did not go according to plan in the 2014-15 campaign. Brendan Rodgers had seen Liverpool lose away in Basel before Real Madrid arrived on Merseyside. Los Blancos made history by becoming the first visiting team to score three goals in the first half at Anfield in a European game, Cristiano Ronaldo thrashed home a stunning opener before Karim Benzema struck twice before the break.
Liverpool also lost the return fixture the following month at the Santiago Bernabeu as they finished with a disappointing five points from six games, with a third-place finish dropping them into the Europa League.
NEWCASTLE UNITED 1-4 INTER (November 2002)
Having come through a qualifying round, Newcastle lost their first three group matches but still managed to secure qualification for the next round – though in the 2002-03 season that meant another round-robin stage.
However, the second phase of the competition started with a disappointing defeat to Inter, Bobby Robson’s team not aided by Craig Bellamy getting sent off after a mere five minutes following a clash with Marco Materazzi. By that stage Domenico Morfeo had already put the Nerazzurri ahead, with Matias Almeyda and Hernan Crespo adding further goals before the break. Nolberto Solano gave Newcastle hope in the second half – only for Alvaro Recoba to kill off any thoughts of a dramatic comeback on Tyneside.
ARSENAL 1-5 BAYERN MUNICH (March 2017)
Arsenal were once stuck experiencing the Champions League version of Groundhog Day, with a 2017 exit to Bayern seeing them exit the competition at the last-16 stage for a seventh successive season. Thumped 5-1 in the first leg, they did score first in the return fixture through a superb Theo Walcott goal.
However, Laurent Koscielny was sent off eight minutes into the second half after conceding a penalty, the referee upgrading the defender’s punishment having initially shown a yellow card. Robert Lewandowski converted from the spot to equalise and the home team fell apart when down to 10 men. Arjen Robben and Douglas Costa piled on the misery for Arsenal before a late brace from Arturo Vidal saw the result mirror their previous meeting.
TOTTENHAM 2-7 BAYERN MUNICH (October 2019)
Serge Gnabry’s four-goal haul saw Tottenham concede seven at home for the first time in a major competition as Pochettino’s players crumbled. Spurs had actually taken an early lead through Son Heung-min but trailed at the break after goals from Joshua Kimmich and Robert Lewandowski.
At half-time there were few signs of the humiliation to come, though, as the Bundesliga powerhouses rattled in three goals in the final seven minutes of normal time. Reaching the final of last term’s Champions League must suddenly feel a long time ago for Pochettino and his team – and they will have to go to Germany for the return fixture in December, too.
