Micky Van De Messi? How Spurs Defender Scored 'ridiculous' Solo Goal

You cognize you person scored a typical extremity erstwhile you are being compared to Lionel Messi.

Even much truthful if you are a centre-half.

With Tottenham starring 2-0 but down to 10 men and coming nether unit from opponents Copenhagen, Micky van de Ven could person been forgiven for launching nan shot to information erstwhile he sewage it connected nan separator of his ain punishment area.

But nan Netherlands defender had different ideas.

Off he went, sprinting past one, two, 3 players, squeezing past different 2 adjacent nan halfway statement and outpacing different Copenhagen defender to get done connected extremity pinch nan Spurs fans rising arsenic 1 successful anticipation.

And nan decorativeness did not disappoint, pinch Van de Ven slotting nan shot past goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski, earlier being mobbed by jubilant team-mates having scored 1 of nan awesome Champions League goals.

"It seems for illustration Lionel Messi turned into Micky van de Ven, moving from his ain extremity down nan different extremity to score," said Spurs leader Thomas Frank aft his broadside thrashed Danish broadside Copenhagen 4-0 to support their unbeaten commencement to their Champions League run pinch 2 wins and 2 draws from their 4 games.

Van de Ven, 24, joined Tottenham successful a £34m move from Wolfsburg successful August 2023 and has precocious added goals to his repertoire.

He scored successful nan Uefa Super Cup against Paris St-Germain successful August, pinch further goals coming successful nan 3-0 triumph astatine West Ham, nan 2-2 Champions League tie astatine Bodo Glimt and past 2 successful nan 3-0 triumph astatine Everton past month.

But nary of those tin comparison to nan 1 he sewage connected Tuesday.

"I started dribbling and thought I would spot if they would drawback up and they didn't," Van de Ven told TNT Sports.

"I was emotion good, and I felt astonishing successful nan sprint, I felt for illustration I could support going."

While Van de Ven tried to enactment calm astir nan value of his goal, others were acold much enthusiastic.

"It's 1 of nan champion goals you will ever see, ever," said erstwhile England midfielder Owen Hargreaves connected TNT Sports.

"He runs past players for illustration they're not moreover there. To enactment beardown and past to finish, that's ridiculous. Goal of nan season, crippled over."

Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha, speaking connected Match of nan Day: Champions League added: "It's top. Really, really good.

"It's for illustration erstwhile he assisted astatine Old Trafford past play [when he ran much than half nan magnitude of nan transportation earlier mounting up Brennan Johnson successful a 3-0 triumph against Manchester United].

"When defenders spell connected those runs, it's difficult to understand who should extremity them. With nan size and nan velocity he has, we really saw a subordinate connected nan different broadside of nan transportation who wanted thing to do pinch him."

Speaking connected BBC Radio 5 Live, erstwhile Premier League defender Curtis Davies added: "He benignant of stepped retired looking for a walk and thing was on. Once he saw nan abstraction up of him he knew cipher was catching him. He was astatine afloat tilt, afloat pace."

The extremity has besides drawn comparisons to Son Heung-min's effort against Burnley successful 2019, a winding tally which earned nan ex-Tottenham guardant nan 2020 Puskas award.

For Tottenham and Frank it was a overmuch needed triumph aft his broadside had been booed disconnected nan transportation astatine nan extremity of their 1-0 location nonaccomplishment to Chelsea connected Saturday.

That extended a tally of only 1 constituent from 3 successive location Premier League matches, moreover though they had picked up 5 points from their opening 3 games successful nan Champions League.

Frank urged nan fans to backmost nan squad and nan supporters responded arsenic they, on pinch a passionate pursuing from nan visitors, helped create a superb atmosphere.

The location temper was helped erstwhile Tottenham took a 19th-minute lead done Brennan Johnson, earlier Wilson Odobert added a 2nd soon aft nan restart to put Spurs successful control.

That threatened to alteration erstwhile Johnson was sent off, aft Belgian charismatic Erik Lambrechts had been sent to nan pitchside show by nan video adjunct referee to reappraisal nan Welshman's sliding situation connected to nan ankle of Marcos Lopez.

But Van de Ven's infinitesimal of magic quickly ended immoderate dream of a fightback arsenic Copenhagen, contempt having a man advantage, crumbled pinch Joao Palhinha adding a fourth. There was almost a 5th but Richarlison deed nan crossbar pinch a punishment successful added time.

"We're progressing forwards, but we are not wherever we want to be," admitted Frank afterwards. "I saw a bully performance, which I'm happy with. We talked astir bounce-back mentality and location will beryllium setbacks successful football, it's really you respond aft a bad spell. We controlled nan crippled from infinitesimal one."

For Van de Ven, it has been a mixed fewer days.

After nan crippled against Chelsea, tv footage showed he and team-mate Djed Spence appearing to snub Frank, erstwhile nan Dane had gestured for them to spell and admit nan location supporters.

Both players apologised aft nan incident, pinch Frank drafting a statement nether nan matter successful Monday's news convention

Following Van de Ven's goal, which will beryllium talked astir for years to come, Frank joked astir nan Dutchman: "He tin support stepping past maine if he is angry."