Tottenham Hotspur’s poor run of type acquired even worse final night time.
Ange Postecoglou returned to Glasgow to tackle Rangers within the Europa League, however as a substitute of getting one over his outdated rivals, he oversaw a quite dismal 1-1 draw.
Nonetheless, whereas it ended a degree a chunk, the hosts have been undoubtedly the higher group and, on one other night time, may and possibly ought to have been two or three objectives up earlier than the Lilywhites equalised.
That mentioned, whereas it was an evening to overlook for Spurs, there was at the very least one starter who may maintain his head excessive, a starter Lionel Messi thought may have joined him at Barcelona up to now.
Spurs’ poor performers
Earlier than we get to the participant in query, we now have to take a look at a few of Spurs’ worst performers from final night time, as whereas they acquired out with a degree, it was an abysmal displaying from one of many Premier League’s ‘massive six.’
The starter who has been getting probably the most stick is Timo Werner, who was hooked at halftime for what may need been his worst sport for the membership since his arrival mid-way by way of final season.
That is an opinion probably shared by Postecoglou, as in his post-match press convention, he slammed the German, saying his display “wasn’t acceptable,” which could even be too form, as in just 46 minutes he misplaced the ball 16 instances and obtained a 2/10 match rating from journalist Alasdair Gold.
Apart from the previous Chelsea ace, Pedro Porro was a catastrophe in assault and defence; Brennan Johnson went from ineffective off the precise to nameless off the left when Dejan Kulusevski got here on, and the midfield duo of Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur may as effectively have sat on the bench all sport as they have been so simply bypassed.
General, it was the type of displaying that may get a supervisor the sack.
Nonetheless, other than Kulusevski, who scored however nonetheless regarded considerably off his finest, there was one starter from final night time who nearly single-handedly saved Spurs within the sport, a participant lauded by Messi over a decade in the past.
The Spurs star who proved Messi proper
So, to get straight to the purpose, the participant in query is, after all, goalkeeping veteran Fraser Forster.
The six-capped Englishman spent a major interval of his profession enjoying for Celtic, and it was with the Hoops that he left a significantly good impression on the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner following a 2-1 Champions League victory in opposition to Barcelona in 2012.
The 36-year-old was an immovable object for these 90 minutes, facing 14 shots on target and preserving the Catalans out till Messi lastly scored a comfort purpose within the 91st minute.
It was such an unimaginable displaying from the Hexam-born shot-stopper that the Argentine megastar later told the press that it was the “finest goalkeeping efficiency I’ve seen” and that the group “even talked about him enjoying right here.”
“There was one sport in Scotland the place he was not human, it’s the finest goalkeeping efficiency I’ve seen. When Victor Valdes mentioned he was leaving, we even talked about him enjoying right here. I used to be positive that he would find yourself at Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United. “
Sadly for the Englishman, that path by no means introduced itself to him, however final night time, in opposition to Rangers, he rolled again the years as soon as extra and ensured that Spurs got here away with a degree from Ibrox.
In his 93 minutes of action, the “magnificent” veteran, as dubbed by former manager Neil Lennon, made 5 saves, 4 of which have been contained in the field, prevented 0.73 objectives, made one punch and excessive declare, took 41 touches, maintained a passing accuracy of 85%, and made one clearance.
Unsurprisingly, it was a displaying that impressed the watching press, with Gold awarding him an 8/10 match rating at full-time and crediting him for his ‘essential’ save in opposition to Cyriel Dessers simply 5 minutes from time.
|
Forster’s sport in numbers |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes |
93′ |
|
Saves |
5 |
|
Saves contained in the Space |
4 |
|
Objectives Prevented |
0.73 |
|
Punches |
1 |
|
Excessive Claims |
1 |
|
Touches |
41 |
|
Passing Accuracy |
23/27 (85%) |
|
Clearances |
1 |
In the end, nearly all of the Spurs group have been totally dire in opposition to Rangers, however Forster put in one other sturdy displaying in opposition to his outdated rivals and, in flip, justified Messi’s excessive reward from all these years in the past.
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4/10 Spurs star was just as bad as Werner vs Rangers
Spurs slipped up once more, this time in Europe in opposition to Rangers.
