Tottenham fans managed to see the funny side of one of the worst free kick routines in recent memory in their 1-0 defeat by AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League. 

The north Londoners were beaten in the first leg of their Last 16 tie by the Dutch side, courtesy of a hugely unlucky Lucas Bergvall own goal in the first half, in the latest blow to Ange Postecoglou and Co.

It was a largely toothless display from Spurs, who now have it all to do in the second leg in order to revive their hopes of Champions League qualification. 

James Maddison stood over the ball, and made as if to have a crack on goal before playing a disguised short pass to captain Son Heung-min. 

But the South Korean icon’s return pass was hit too heavy, and ended up behind the on-rushing Maddison. 

James Maddison and Son Heung-min were caught in a hilarious free kick mix up on Thursday

The woeful set piece encapsulated Tottenham’s performance against AZ Alkmaar

The north London side traveled home knowing they have it all to do in the return fixture

The England international’s touch back in to Son was then played off balance and therefore behind his team-mate, leaving the Spurs skipper all at sea, with three AZ defenders closing him down. 

Son then passes to Kevin Danso as Spurs look to resurrect the chance with numbers in the box already for the set-piece, but the centre back’s ball into the danger area is over hit, and trickles out of play. 

It was a let off for the Dutch hosts, but a move that largely encapsulated Spurs’ performance on a disappointing European night.

As such, it drew the ire of a number of fans on social media, though they were able to laugh at the woeful set-piece. 

One fan wrote: ‘Got to be the most Tottenham free kick imaginable.’

Another echoed the sentiment: ‘That free kick was the most Tottenham thing I’ve ever seen.’ 

A third posted a picture of a dartboard surrounded by darts, none of which had managed to land on the board. 

And a fourth joked: ‘I can’t believe this actually isn’t AI generated.’

The defeat by AZ was the latest in a string of disappointing setbacks this season for Spurs

It is the latest disappointing result in a season of setbacks for Spurs, who have struggled with swathes of injuries throughout the campaign. 

As a result, they have been incapable of building up any sort of momentum and form, which has unfortunately impacted their campaign, with Postecoglou’s side down in 13th, tied on 33 points with 14th-placed Man United and West Ham in 15th.

It was a thoroughly disappointing performance, especially given this competition remains the club’s last hope of silverware this term, and they have work to do to turn the tie around in the second leg in north London.

‘We’ll analyse it and have a look at the areas where we struggled with, but it’s fair to say it was nowhere near the level it needed to be,’ Postecoglou said.

‘It wasn’t great from us tonight. Pretty much all facets of the game. We didn’t really get to grips with any part of the game. We struggled to gain any momentum with the ball, we weren’t as aggressive as we needed to be without the ball.

‘I don’t think it’s a matter of effort or attitude. I don’t think it is going out there and not trying, but, like I said, we didn’t really come to grips and have the right mindset to tackle an away fixture in Europe.

‘It is always tough and we obviously conceded the goal, which was a disappointing set of events, but even after that we didn’t really settle down into the game at all.

‘You are going to face some pressure when you play away from home in Europe and weather the storm and get to grips with it, but we never really did so that was a disappointment.’