Tottenham Hotspur U21 secured a 3-1 victory over Dinamo Zagreb U21 in the International Premier League Cup Group Stage on Monday evening. The result extends the English side's recent form, adding to their win against Derby County U21 earlier in the week. By then they had already shown they could string results together, with victories over Newcastle United U21 and Derby County among their recent outings.
T. Bakovic opened the scoring in the 26th minute, giving the hosts an early lead. O. Boast doubled the advantage with a goal in the 66th minute, and the visitors had little to show for their efforts at that stage. E. Lehane added a third in the 79th minute before L. Williams-Barnett pulled one back for Dinamo Zagreb in the 86th minute.
And here's the thing about the statistics — Tottenham dominated possession at 67 per cent against 33 per cent for the visitors. The hosts registered 104 attacks compared to 94 from Dinamo Zagreb, though both sides claimed four corners each. Tottenham's control of the game was evident throughout, keeping the visitors pinned back for large periods.
To be fair, Dinamo Zagreb showed they could create something, with three yellow cards issued against two for the hosts. They managed 20 throw-ins compared to 27 for Tottenham, and had slightly more free kicks awarded — eight versus 11. But those numbers didn't translate into meaningful chances against a well-organised defence.
The result means Tottenham maintain their momentum in the group stage, following their 3-1 victory over Derby County U21 on September 11th. Dinamo Zagreb's recent form has been mixed at best, with heavy defeats against Vukovar and Orient 1919 among their last five fixtures. Things came to a head on Monday evening when the visitors simply couldn't match the English side's intensity.