Tottenham were back, well so we thought anyway. Ange Postecoglou’s men were a free-scoring bundle of joy but they have crumbled twice now in recent times.
Sandwiching that amazing 4-1 win over West Ham, Spurs suffered a defeat to Brighton and have now just lost to Crystal Palace 1-0.
The Eagles had not won all season, they were the league’s lowest scorers. It was classic Spurs, really.
Still, it may have been a negative day at the office for Tottenham, but there was some excitement generated at least by a first Premier League start for Mikey Moore. Here’s how he got on…
Mikey Moore's performance in numbers
Against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday evening, 17-year-old Moore was electric with his performance, taking on the player for fun as if here…well, Neymar.
That was the viewpoint of the skipper for the night, James Maddison anyway, who was blown away by the teenager’s skillset on the continental stage.
Moore didn’t register a goal involvement that evening but he evidently impressed Postecoglou enough to be handed a full Premier League debut against Palace on Sunday afternoon.
Sadly, it didn’t go according to plan for Spurs or the young winger. He was substituted on the 62-minute mark having failed with all three of his dribble attempts and failed to register a single key pass.
You cannot fault Moore’s energy, workrate or his bravery but it simply didn’t come off for him on this occasion.
Handed a 5/10 match rating by Football.London’s Rob Guest, the Tottenham correspondent wrote of how the teen was ‘positive when on the ball’ but ‘didn’t have too many opportunities to run’.
The Hotspur Way graduate wasn’t the worst player on the field though, far from it.
Tottenham's worst players against Crystal Palace
Micky van de Ven has been fabulous in a Spurs shirt this season. That assist at Old Trafford was remarkable, bursting down the left-hand side like Gareth Bale in his prime to lay the ball on a plate for Brennan Johnson.
At Selhurst Park, the Dutchman was left wanting. It was his giveaway that led to the game’s only goal.
Van de Ven got caught in possession which allowed Eberechi Eze to collect the ball before crossing for Jean-Philippe Mateta who found the net.
Spurs weren’t great at the back but they were also pretty poor in forward areas too. That’s strange considering how impressive Postecoglou’s side have been in the final third this term, notably scoring four goals last time out against West Ham United.
Dejan Kulusevski has been a massive part of that. Before this weekend’s games, the Swede ranked first among Premier League midfielders for key passes, progressive runs and dribbles per 90.
Thus, to see him withdrawn in the same minute as Moore was disappointing. It also spoke volumes that the club’s Aussie manager was willing to take off his most creative presence when they needed a goal.
However, it was damning of the former Juventus ace’s time on the field in south London this weekend as his 31 touches were even fewer than goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario who managed 52.
Minutes played
62
Touches
31
Accurate passes
16/22 (73%)
Key passes
1
Expected assists (xA)
0.02
Crosses
0/1
Shots
1
Completed dribbles
1/1
Duels won
2/9
Fouls
4
Interceptions
1
Tackles
0
He simply wasn’t his usual self, registering just the one shot – one that was saved well by Dean Henderson – and only one key pass. His expected assists (xA) tally sat at just 0.02, far below the usual levels of creativity we’ve become accustomed to seeing from the 24-year-old in 2024/25 to date.
Handed a 4/10 match rating by the aforementioned Guest, he wrote that the ‘intricate bits of play just didn’t come off for the Swede.’
Damning words indeed for one of Tottenham’s best players this season. That’s now six points dropped from their last three games. Not ideal at all, is it?
Postecoglou’s men looked as though they were going places but old habits die hard, eh? Spurs are struggling again and the craggy-faced head coach has some questions to answer.
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