Three winners and three losers from Tottenham’s 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth
Tottenham Hotspur have handed Bournemouth a first Premier League victory since October so identifying the losers from the Wednesday night clash should not be difficult.
Here are the three players who can actually be pleased with the way they played and three others who have a lot to improve on after their poor displays.
Mathys Tel opened the scoring for Tottenham
One of the few positives from Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat to Bournemouth was the fact Mathys Tel scored just a few minutes into the game.
The 20-year-old had a good first half against Sunderland on Sunday and he has once again shown what he is capable of on the left wing.
Spurs are seriously short on attacking options right now and it would make sense for Tel to keep on playing for the time being. A good run of games in the first team could be exactly what he needs to boost his confidence and build some form.
Joao Palhinha scored his second overhead kick of the season
Joao Palhinha won nine ground duels against Bournemouth and on top of this he was the most fouled player on the pitch.
To make things even better, the Portuguese midfielder scored a tremendous overhead kick which drew Spurs level with just over 10 minutes left to play.
It is a shame Tottenham could not prevent Bournemouth from getting a third goal because Palhinha did not deserve to be on the losing team after his strike.
Xavi Simons bagged a first half assist
Wednesday was a big night for Xavi Simons after he returned from his suspension following the red card he received in the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool.
The Dutchman made an impact early on, assisting Tel to give Spurs the lead in the early stages of the match against Bournemouth.
Simons played some clever passes and while his overall performance was nothing particularly special, he was one of Thomas Frank’s better players.
Now, let’s take a look at the three losers from Bournemouth 3-2 Tottenham…
Lucas Bergvall has picked up another injury
It seems that Lucas Bergvall cannot catch a break this season and he has once again suffered an injury during a game.
The young Swede was substituted in the second half after he hit the deck and was unable to continue playing.
Spurs are now very short on available midfielders, so it is a good thing one of Yves Bissouma or Pape Matar Sarr is guaranteed to return from AFCON shortly. Fingers crossed it is Senegal who get knocked out by Mali in the quarter-finals. Sorry Sarr, but you are needed in North London.
Guglielmo Vicario was poor for Tottenham
There have been occasions this season when Guglielmo Vicario has put in strong displays for Spurs, but more often than not he is a weak link.
The stats from the Bournemouth game reveal everything there is to know. Vicario faced 1.48 xGOT and conceded three times, which equates to -1.52 goals prevented.
Cristian Romero must take some responsibility for the first goal and Pedro Porro was poor for the second. However, the Italian is clearly not making the saves he ought to and that is proven by the statistics.
Pedro Porro needs to be challenged at Spurs
If there is one Tottenham player who gets away with more poor performances than anyone else, it is probably Pedro Porro. This is a result of serious problems with the squad, because the Spaniard’s only understudy is currently the first choice at left-back.
Porro was at fault for Bournemouth’s second goal as he should have been close enough to his attacker to try and stop the cross from being played into the box. It was a case of poor defensive positioning, which is an all too common occurrence for the 26-year-old.
In fairness to Porro he could probably use a break, but this can only happen if Fabio Paratici and Johan Lange sign somebody. Even if they do, it seems unlikely a right back will be brought in, despite the obvious and immediate need for one.
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