It was Spurs star Frank’s worst game all season.

Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool have often engaged in traditional goal-filled matches so far in the Premier League season.

The Reds beat Spurs 5-1 on their way to the top flight title last season, but the north London side will want to keep in mind the encounter dating back to 2017. That’s because Harry Kane and Son Heung-min’s side cruised to a 4-1 victory over their opponents on Saturday night.

It was a memorable game for Spurs for all the wrong reasons, as two red cards were shown, Guglielmo Vicario was beaten with two goals, and Arne Slott’s mini-resurrection resulted in a continuation of a 2-1 defeat.

Thomas Frank would have been furious at Xavi Simmons’ actions the moment the full-time whistle blew. The underwhelming summer signing received a red card early in the first half, helping Liverpool secure a confidence-boosting three points. Still, there were other underachievers who greatly disappointed the team.

Poor performance of Maine Spurs vs Liverpool

Indeed, while Simmons’ wild moments with Virgil van Dijk no doubt helped the visiting Reds, playing against 10 men is not always easy.

Unfortunately, Frank’s attacking team lacked consistency and Richarlison scored the winning goal for the hosts in the final minute, allowing Spurs to come back and give Liverpool the win.

Mohamed Kudus in particular failed to shine during his memorable 58-minute appearance, with the former West Ham United attacker registering just one shot on Alisson’s goal. Moreover, despite accumulating only 31 touches on the ball, the hit-and-miss number 20 still gives away a high 11 possessions.

Randall Kolo Muani also likely frustrated Frank, who failed to find the back of the net in his fourth effort. In addition, the former Brentford manager will be left reeling from Cristian Romero’s sacking late in the game after a botched pass forward allowed Alexander Isak to take the lead.

TalkSPORT pundit Alex Crook went so far as to label Romero an “absolute liability” in the end, with the 27-year-old no doubt fearing he would have been sacked as manager had he not received a red card anyway.

However, there was one underperforming player who has yet to be mentioned, and his performance level dropped significantly against the visitors in the slot, making it his worst game of the season so far under Frank.

Spurs stars who had their worst games under Frank

At the end of the 2-1 defeat, no one in Spurs’ white clothes could have trudged off with their heads held high, away from Richarlison, who may have poured his energy into the second half.

Lukas Bergvall certainly wouldn’t have been proud of his effort, as the midfielder, hailed as “better than most” by a Spurs podcast host earlier this month against Newcastle United, faded into the background as the game progressed, and the situation on the pitch was not helped by Simmons’ ill-considered sending off.

Bergvall, who scored two shots at Newcastle’s goal and completed 100% of his dribbles, was the driving force behind the breakthrough and helped Spurs share the points on Tyneside.

In stark contrast, against a rejuvenated squad in the slot, the young Swede largely retreated into his shell when the going got tough, registering zero tackle wins, zero successful dribbles and just 15 accurate passes. To make matters worse, he never had a shot on Alisson’s goal and the manager replaced him in the 71st minute.

It’s a worrying decline for a star player whose graceful composure on the ball was once praised by The Athletic’s J.J. Bull as “similar to Modric”, and overall it seems unlikely that Bergvall will add to his expected three-goal contribution in the Premier League this season.

There’s a good chance that this off-season performance could see the 19-year-old left out of the next few matches on a crowded winter fixture list, as it was his worst performance of the season compared to other performances that led to the aforementioned accolades.

It will be interesting to see what Spurs’ next line-up looks like ahead of tricky battles against Crystal Palace and Brentford, but Frank will need to get his team selection right to protect himself as he is already under pressure.