Tottenham season is now in freefall after Gent upset in the Europa League

Maybe Mauricio Pochettino and his Tottenham Hotspur just don’t care all that much about the Europa League. Thursday’s 1-0 away loss to Gent in the first leg of the round of 32 certainly left that impression.

After the disappointment of missing out on the knockout stages of the Champions League, apathy for the second-tier tournament is somewhat understandable. Yet Spurs aren’t exactly in position to be neglecting any competitions at the moment, given the turn the season has taken.

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At times this season, the Spurs have swished and swung about the field like one of the most whimsical and pleasing teams around. At others, it’s been the same old Tottenham – talented, but also naive and incapable of delivering when it matters.

For a spell, Spurs were very much in the Premier League title race. But after six straight wins that lifted them into second place, one win from four – including a painful 2-0 away loss to direct rivals Liverpool – has allowed Chelsea to run away at the top and Manchester City to wrest second place from them. Tottenham is now an outsider, at best, for the title.

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And since the EFL Cup was lost back in October and there’s an awfully long way to go in the FA Cup, Spurs would be wise to put a good few eggs in the Europa League basket. Indeed, they played a full-strength lineup, or something very close to it on Thursday.

Yet it didn’t do them much good. Such is the crisis in form in North London at the moment.

Against a well-organized Gent, a team that has slumped to eighth place in the utterly unremarkable Belgian league, all Tottenham managed to craft by way of chances in the first half was a pair of long shots by Dele Alli, neither of which was particularly threatening, let alone on target.

Meanwhile, Gent’s Israeli-American Kenny Sayef (who apparently remains eligible for the USA even though the 23-year-old Florida-born attacking midfielder has appeared in two friendlies for the Israelis) and Danijel Milicevic made Spurs deeply uncomfortable in the back.

Just after the intermission, Tottenham got closest when Harry Kane turned onto an appetizing ball in the box. But he pinged his finish off the near post.

Before the hour, Gent got a winner that was not at all undeserved. On a counter, Milicevic was played through to the back line by Nana Asare. The Bosnian cut back for Jeremy Perbet, with the ball skipping through Eric Dier’s legs. The French striker then scored.

Gent came far closer to getting another than Spurs ever did to equalizing. In the 76th minute, Milicevic had an acre of space at the edge of the box but provoked a great save by Hugo Lloris, who parried his shot with the help of his post.

Mostly, Tottenham was listless.

And the club’s recent away record remains a monstrosity.

The damage in Belgium was modest. A half-decent performance at home in the return leg should see Spurs through to the round of 16. If Spurs are so inclined.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.