Lucas Bergvall has responded to Tottenham's defeat against Manchester City with a four-word message before their next game. An Erling Haaland strike in the first half was enough to seal all three points for Pep Guardiola's side with focus for Spurs now turning to the Europa League.
Having lost to Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round, Spurs have a free weekend to rest, recover and train in preparation for their last-16 first leg in the Netherlands against AZ Alkmaar next Thursday. The Lilywhites have already beaten them in Europe this season with Ange Postecoglou making his thoughts clear on the competition.
"I don't have to remind them," he said in a press conference when asked about the players knowing they have an opportunity to do something special. "We've been talking about that all along. Europe's always been at the forefront of our minds and we did really well.
"We saw how important it was that we did finish in the top eight, even finishing in the top four, because it kind of helped us this last two weeks having two games off. So, again, we were rewarded for that."
While the bulk of his squad is back available, the extended rest will be important to ensuring the best possible performance is put in against former Spurs striker Troy Parrot and his teammates. Bergvall is one player that will need some serious recovery after putting in a battling display against Man City.
The young Swede was clearly tiring in the later stages as he made some mistakes in possession, but that will undoubtedly happen as he continues to develop. In the wake of the clash, he posted a message to Tottenham fans on Instagram.
Alongside an action shot from the clash, Bergvall wrote: "Not the result we wanted but thank you for the support today [white heart emoji]. See you next week [white heart emoji]."
Following his performance alongside Rodrigo Bentancur, who was also impressive, the 19-year-old will be hoping for another start in midfield against Alkmaar. Postecoglou will also face key decisions on Pedro Porro, Destiny Udogie, Djed Spence, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison among others.
TNT Sports is home to exclusive Premier League fixtures throughout the season. TNT is available for £30.99 on a rolling monthly basis via the Discovery+ Premium Prime Video channel and also includes the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, boxing and NBA.
£30.99
TNT Sports/Discovery+
