Ange Postecoglou delivers honest Will Lankshear verdict after his sending-off in Tottenham loss at Galatasaray

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Tottenham Hotspur fell to their first Europa League defeat of the season on Thursday as Galatasaray ran out 3-2 winners in Istanbul.

Spurs conceded after just six minutes as Yunus Akgun half-volleyed the ball into the top corner after Archie Gray had nodded away a free-kick.

Will Lankshear equalised with his first Tottenham senior goal on 19 minutes, but Victor Osimhen went on to grab a first-half brace to leave the visitors trailing 3-1 at the break.

Things got worse for Tottenham on the hour mark when Lankshear, already on a booking, was sent off for a rash tackle on Gabriel Sara.

To their credit, Spurs pulled a goal back in the 69th minute as Dominic Solanke netted his third in three games and fifth of the season.

Tottenham pushed for an equaliser, with Dejan Kulusevski missing a golden chance late on, but ultimately couldn’t get over the line.

Ange Postecoglou spoke to the media after the game, where he was asked what he made of Lankshear’s display.

Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham gem Will Lankshear will learn after ‘overenthusiasm’ led to red card

Postecoglou spoke about both Lankshear and Lucas Bergvall, who struggled in the unforgiving settings of the RAMS Park.

“Yeah, look Will took his goal well, he worked hard for the team,” Postecoglou told football.london.

“Obviously he hasn’t had a lot of experience at senior football so he would have learnt a lot today.

“The red card, it was a bit of overenthusiasm in that moment to give away a foul, but he’ll learn from that.

“The same with Lucas here. Giving him an understanding of the levels here.

“It is not easy when you are playing away in Europe. You can only allow them to learn that by exposing them to it.

“I thought Archie was great. It was a tough game for us defensively at different times but I think we’ll get so much growth out of him because he’s not playing in his position.

“I guess for three teenagers in the starting line-up, I think they’ll learn a lot from it and hopefully it helps with their development.”

Glenn Hoddle claims Will Lankshear ‘lost his head’

Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle spoke about Lankshear’s sending-off on TNT Sports.

He speculated that the youngster’s rash tackle was “born out of frustration” after being brought down and not awarded a free kick.

Hoddle also claimed Lankshear “lost his head” as he forgot he had already been booked.

“I think it was born out of frustration,” Hoddle said on TNT Sports (7/11/2024, 7:08pm).

“As a youngster, Will Lankshear has lost his head and forgot he is on a yellow.”

Meanwhile, Tottenham fans acknowledged that Lankshear’s red card was “silly” but they were willing to cut him some slack for the most part.

There was also praise for one Spurs player in particular on the night, with Alasdair Gold giving him an 8 out of 10 rating.