Tottenham Hotspur couldn’t keep their recent run of good form going against Brighton & Hove Albion last night, although the return of Destiny Udogie to the team will encourage Ange Postecoglou.
Despite goals from Alejo Veliz and Ben Davies, Spurs fell to a disappointing 4-2 defeat at the Amex last night.
Commentating on the match for Amazon Prime, Andy Townsend was left very impressed by the young Italian international defender despite Tottenham failing to close the gap on the teams above them.
One of the key trends in the Premier League this season has been the number of injuries suffered by every team in the league.
Ange Postecoglou has had some difficult decisions to make ever since their defeat to Chelsea when they lost Micky Van de Ven and James Maddison to injuries and Cristian Romero and Udogie to suspensions.
They’ve been playing catch-up ever since and after being slightly fortunate to defeat Everton before Christmas, Brighton were much more ruthless last night.
One of the few players to come out of Tottenham’s match against Brighton yesterday with any credit was Destiny Udogie.
The 21-year-old was gallivanting down the left and finding himself in dangerous areas throughout the match.
He couldn’t convert any of his chances with Brighton defenders putting their bodies on the line to earn three points.
Udogie could only stand and watch as his Spurs teammates made several defensive errors that ultimately cost them the match.
Udogie stars for Tottenham despite Brighton defeat
The relentless energy of the young full-back was on full show when he made a fantastic run through Brighton’s midfield and defence in the final minute of the match.
Just before the full-time whistle blew, Townsend said: “He’s so powerful, it’s a brilliant run.
“He’s been awesome at times [Destiny] Udogie you know with his sheer running power.
“Getting into the box from such a deep position at times but he’s a genuine powerhouse, he really is.”
It’s no surprise that Spurs have tied Udogie down to a new deal less than half a season into his first campaign with the club after spending last year on loan at Udinese.
Alongside Micky Van de Ven, Pedro Porro and Cristian Romero, Tottenham have a very strong backline when everyone is fit, even if the Argentinian is very much a loose cannon.
Tottenham want to sign another defender in January which considering their performance against Brighton without Van de Ven and Romero seems sensible despite Udogie’s best efforts to help his side earn a win.
The club’s fringe players did very little to convince Postecoglou yesterday that they deserve more minutes when everyone is fit.
The silver lining was seeing Veliz score his first goal since his summer move from Rosario Central.
Postecoglou needs to find a plan B given current injury crisis
While watching Udogie bomb down Tottenham’s left-hand side into a central position against Brighton is exciting, it does leave them horribly exposed at the back.
Brighton created chance after chance and were it not for the heroics of Guglielmo Vicario, the score line could have been much worse.
Without Van de Ven’s recovery pace and Yves Bissouma’s exceptional ability to shield the back four, Spurs are going to be continually found out by decent attacks.
Tottenham are set to lose Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr very soon as they head to the African Cup of Nations, with Son Heung-min heading to the Asia Cup too.
Postecoglou therefore needs to find a new way to win without so many key players and that might involve being slightly more conservative.
While that’s against his managerial mantra, the last thing Postecoglou will want is for his side’s promising start to the campaign to fall apart over the next few weeks.
