Tottenham head coach, Jose Mourinho handed Joe Rodon his first start for the club this evening against Chelsea in a bitter London Derby at Stamford Bridge.
Throwing the centre-back in at the deep end was perhaps more of a necessity as Toby Alderweireld was unavailable due to injury, but it had shades of Tanganga vs Liverpool.
Rodon started in a flat back four alongside Eric Dier, although it was arguably the more experienced Englishmen who struggled against the Blues.
While Rodon endured a nervy first ten minutes and an anxious back-pass header at the end of the game, he was pretty solid throughout.
Dier, on the other hand, suffered from several lapses of concentration with the ball at his feet, as well as almost gifting Abraham a goal with some poor second-half marking.
Jose Mourinho was quick to praise Rodon in his post-match press conference, while also pointing out that Eric Dier made far more mistakes than the Welshman.
Mourinho said (Football London): “I’m very happy with Joe and very happy with the profile. To work with Joe has been a pleasure and it’s just a shame that he can’t play in the Europa League. His biggest game before this was in the play-offs. He did very well though. Just one mistake but Eric Dier made lots of mistakes, in possession. We’re top of the league and we’re not happy. That’s a good thing.
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