Tottenham’s brief unbeaten streak under Thomas Frank came to an abrupt end at home to Aston Villa last Sunday, with pundit Gary Lineker expressing concern over one star in a key role.
Tottenham's lack of creativity a concern for Thomas Frank
Spurs made an excellent start to proceedings against Villa when midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, who recently signed a brand-new contract, opened the scoring with five minutes on the clock, feeding off midfield partner Joao Palhinha’s knock back to hand Spurs the lead.
However, that was as good as it got for Frank’s side.
Tottenham failed to convince going forward throughout the match, ultimately paying the price against a well-organized Villa side, with summer signing Xavi Simons criticised as Spurs lacked creative spark.
From the offset, the Lilywhites found it difficult to create clear-cut chances. Tottenham’s forwards, particularly on the counter-attack when one of Palhinha or Bentancur won the ball back off Villa, lacked that cutting edge to craft anything of note.
Joao Palhinha
7.8
Boubacar Kamara
7.5
Emiliano Buendia
7.5
Rodrigo Bentancur
7.4
Morgan Rogers
7.1
via WhoScored
Ultimately, Frank’s midfield failed to provide the necessary service to Spurs’ front line, leaving them starved of quality opportunities.
While the north Londoners battled to a 2-1 win away to Leeds before the international break, there were major signs beforehand that Tottenham quite simply need to improve in the attacking areas.
They were very fortunate to nick last-gasp draws against Wolves and Bodo/Glimt before they travelled to Elland Road, but Spurs’ luck ran out against Villa, who stole all three points in N17 thanks to a wonder goal from Emiliano Buendia.
Particularly after Tottenham’s loss to Villa, their lack of impetus in the final third is beginning to become a real worry, if it wasn’t already.
Concerns surround Richarlison’s ability to lead the line, while Dominic Solanke’s bad luck with an ankle injury, which required minor surgery, has limited the England international to just 49 minutes of action this season.
With Simons still getting up to speed, Frank is dearly missing the attacking quality of Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison. He’ll be hoping to have the former back as soon as possible, with Kulusevski unable to take part since picking up a knee injury against Crystal Palace last season.
Tottenham face a tough trip to AS Monaco in the Champions League next, and Frank will have a key decision to make about who starts up front, if Solanke isn’t fit enough to make his long-awaited return.
Gary Lineker says Mathys Tel can't do basic thing right in Tottenham striker role
If Solanke proves unable to start against Monaco, Spurs could turn to Mathys Tel as his number nine once again.
Tel was handed the nod by Frank against both Leeds and Villa, opening the scoring at Elland Road, but was largely isolated and ineffective against Unai Emery’s side at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Once tipped to eventually bag 40 goals a season by Julian Nagelsmann, the Frenchman may have some way to go before realising that prediction, and Lineker has revealed one key flaw in his game.
Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast this week (via GiveMeSport), Lineker says that Tel can’t do a basic thing right in the Tottenham striker role — namely that he lacks the natural runs in behind to beat the offside trap.
“I preferred him, perhaps, on the left-hand side when I’m seeing him play there,” Lineker said.
“But yeah, he wasn’t making the natural runs of a striker that understands how to beat an offside trap, which is not that difficult when a team plays that high line with no pressure on the ball.”
Ange Postecoglou played a key role in convincing the 20-year-old to join Spurs from Bayern Munich last January, on an initial loan which ex-chair Daniel Levy re-negotiated and secured permanently for £30 million.
While the Lilywhites worked hard to sign Tel, he’s racked up just six goal contributions (four goals, two assists) in 28 appearances thus far.
However, it is vital to remember that the ex-Rennes sensation is still very young, and Tottenham will be banking on Tel eventually reaching his full potential after flashes of true brilliance at Bayern.
