The Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor has said that the team will be punished if they do not attack against the Greek club Panathinaikos in the final group match of the Europa league. Tottenham and Lazio are the favourites to progress to the next stage of the competition.
Tottenham have already secured seven points from the opening five matches the group. Even though it is highly unlikely that they will be able to top the group ahead of Lazio, they need to progress to the next round of the competition. In order to do so, they should be prepared to attack Panathinaikos from the start according to the striker Adebayor.
In the reverse fixture, Tottenham only managed a 1-1 draw with the Greek club. Adebayor has said that they should not be taking their opponents lightly even though this match will be at White Hart Lane. Adebayor has said that if the team goes into the match against Panathinaikos with the mentality to get just a point, then they will not be able to do it. Instead, they should be going on with the mentality to win the match, which will at least give them an opportunity to finish top of group. Andre Villas-Boas has already said that Europa league is an important competition for him.
“Come on, let’s be honest — we’re not playing to draw against Panathinaikos at home. If we start thinking about getting a draw at home to Panathinaikos, then we shouldn’t have a place in the Europa League. I have a huge respect for Panathinaikos and I believe they’re a good side but we’re at home and in front of our own fans. We just have to play for the win. I can’t see why we would play to draw,” said Adebayor ahead of the match with Panathinaikos.