Clint Dempsey returning to normal self (and the rest of the day in Europa League)

It hasn’t been a smooth transition across London for Clint Dempsey, but given the U.S. international had not been training with Fulham prior to his move to Tottenham, it was reasonable to expect a period of adjustment. New coach, new club, new system, and having to recover from a broken routine is a recipe for struggles. That Dempsey was frequently leaving his new teammates to join the U.S. for third round CONCACAF World Cup qualifying didn’t help.

But now in December, the effects of those excuses are started to run out, which is why today’s Europa League performance against Panathinaikos was so encouraging. Dempsey set up Spurs’ opening goal (a 29th score from Emmanuel Adebayor) and forced an own, game-winning goal in the 76th. When he came off in the 80th, Dempsey had been his team’s best performer, Spurs going on to win at White Hart Lane, 3-1.

Beyond his strong performance, what was most interesting about Dempsey’s day was André Villas-Boas’s formation. The Spurs manager deployed a 4-4-2, pushing Dempsey out of the middle, to the same wide left position where he enjoyed much of his success at Fulham. The spot produced one of Dempsey’s best performances since moving to Tottenham.

Don’t expect Dempsey to keep that spot. When Gareth Bale returns to full health, the wide left position will be all his. However, if Dempsey can use this interlude to gain some confidence, he might be able to take some swagger back into his role in the middle of the park.

Other results (by group)

Group A: Liverpool tops the group after their 1-0 win at Udinese (23′ Jordan Henderson) coupled with Young Boys’ 3-1 win over a 10-man Anzhi Makhachkala left three teams tied atop the group with 10 points. Young Boys end up missing out.

Group B: Hapoel Tel Aviv and Atlético Madrid were through before the day started, but a 2-0 home win over Académica combined with the Atleti’s 1-0 loss at Viktoria Plzen gives the group to the Israeli club.

Group C: Borussia Monchengladbach routed Fenerbahçe in Istanbul (3-0) but it didn’t matter. The two teams had already locked up second and first in the group (respectively). Marseille and Cyprus’s AEL are out.

Group D: Bordeaux’s 2-0 win over Newcastle give the Ligue 1 side the group. The Magpies had already confirmed a knockout round spot. Portugal’s Marítimo and Belgium’s Club Brugge go hom.

Group E: Molde’s 1-0 upset in Stuttgart guaranteed the group to Steaua Bucharest, but it was the Romanian club’s draw at Copenhagen that ensured the German side squeaked through in second place, besting the Danes on a tiebreaker.

Group F: Ukraine’s Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk finished a 15-point group stage with a 4-0 rout of Sweden’s AIK, while third place PSV got a for-pride win in Napels, 3-1 over second place Napoli.

Group G: Basel’s 0-0 draw at Genk assured the two club go through, the Belgian’s in first place. Sporting’s match against Hungary’s Videoton was suspended because of a waterlogged field in Lisbon. When it’s played on Friday, it won’t matter.

Group H: Rubin Kazan and Inter Milan were guaranteed first and second going into the day. Each drew on Thursday, Inter at home to Azerbaijan’s Neftçi and Rubin at Partizan Belgrade.

Group I: Another group that was settled two weeks ago. Lyon’s 2-0 win over Israel’s Ironi Kiryat Shmona put them on 16 points, while Sparta Prague finished second after their 0-0 drew at Athletic Bilbao.

Group J: Tottenham finished two points behind Lazio after the Italians win 4-1 in Maribor. Sergio Floccari had two goals. For Spurs, Brad Friedel got the start in goal.

Group K: Ukraine’s Metalist Kharkiv and Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen had already locked up spots one and two. Metalist lost a meaningless game at 10-man Rapid Wien (1-0) while Bayer defeated Rosenborg (1-0) at home. Both Mix Diserkud (Rosenborg) and Terrence Boyd (Rapid) saw time, though Boyd started on the bench.

Group L: Hannover’s 1-1 draw at Levante kept the group in their hands, holding the Spaniards in second place. Steve Cherundolo played the last 20 minutes for Hannover. Helsingborg’s 3-1 win at Twente was meaningless.