There is no doubt that Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-1 home defeat to Liverpool last night has put even more pressure on manager Thomas Frank.
The Dane side failed to gain anything from their encounter with Arn Slott’s side, with the Lilywhites currently finishing 13th in the Premier League.
Frank’s team suffered another losing streak, conceding five goals in the process, highlighting their struggles in the defensive third.
After further defeats, fans are starting to grow increasingly impatient with the manager, especially after struggling under Ange Postecoglou last season.
The club have already lost seven of their first 17 league games, and there is no doubt that two players are to blame for Saturday’s defeat.
Spurs’ poor performance against Liverpool
Despite failing to impress against Nottingham Forest last weekend, Frank has decided to use Xavi Simmons as his starting No. 10.
The Dutchman struggled to get into the game from the start, registering just one successful dribble, but arguably entered the contest for all the wrong reasons.
It was originally intended to be a charge on compatriot Virgil van Dijk, but a VAR check resulted in the midfielder being sent off for the first time since his £52m summer move.
Simmonds was not the only one who failed to produce results, as center back Cristian Romero also failed to produce results in the center of the backline along with Micky van de Ven.
The Argentine was unable to stop Hugo Ekitike from jumping over to give Slott’s side a two-goal lead, while failing to win a single tackle in the match.
Like Simmons, he was given his marching orders after he was judged to have been sent off in the match against Ibrahima Konate in the closing stages, even though he was already set to play.
Spurs star less reliable than Simmons or Romero
Frank, who has won just one of his last eight Premier League games so far, clearly has some key issues that need to be addressed within the Spurs squad.
The Lilywhites’ only win in such a match was against the manager’s former team, Brentford, but they subsequently lost five of those matches.
It is clear that something will have to give up in the next few games, especially given the Dane’s underperformance, which has seen him underperforming his former employers, who left to join the Lilywhites.
One of his biggest problems is his inability to identify the best starting eleven in the Premier League, and that has undoubtedly cost him in important games of late.
He often starts alongside Simmons in the number 10 midfield duo, with Rodrigo Bentancur also one of the players often asked to start in such a role.
The Uruguayan has started 13 of 17 league games this season, including four consecutive wins, including the last two defeats.
However, despite the faith shown in him by the manager, he is rapidly becoming an unreliable option, and his constant selection is now even puzzling.
His stats against Liverpool showed his lack of influence, and the 28-year-old is a bigger problem than the aforementioned pair, despite being released.
He played the full game against the Reds, but lost six of his subsequent appearances. This is more than any other player on the pitch.
Rodrigo Bentancur – Statistics against Liverpool | |
|---|---|
statistics | tally |
Play time (minutes) | 90 |
touch | 53 |
pass completed | 80% |
loss of ownership | 10 times |
lost in a duel | 6 |
Number of fouls committed | 2 |
dribbled past | 1x |
antenna lost | 75% |
Statistics by FotMob | |
Bentancur also managed to achieve an 80% pass completion rate, but it was largely wasteful, as evidenced by his 10 lost possessions, the highest of any Spurs player.
The midfielder was often unable to withstand the intensity of his opponents, especially in the second half, and ended up committing two fouls, leading to a further booking.
His disappointing performance is also reflected in his record, where he was dominated in the air and lost 75% of his battles, although he was able to break through on the dribble once.
As a result of this performance, Bentancur was given a match rating of just 5/10 by The Express’s Archie Griggs, further confirming his dismal performance in North London.
Unfortunately for Frank, such performances should have made it clear that the Uruguayan was not at the level needed to be successful during his time at the club.
But the Dane will need to make some big decisions in the future if he is to succeed with the Lilywhites, especially given his recent lackluster form in the Premier League.
Frank has to drop six pass flops for Spurs, who had fewer touches than Vicario.
Thomas Frank needs to get rid of this Tottenham Hotspur flop now, having performed as badly as Xavi Simmons against Liverpool.
