Tottenham Hotspur may have lost 1-0 to Liverpool at home yesterday, but there were positives to take from the match, the main one being the Premier League debut of Japhet Tanganga.
Tanganga was a surprise name in the starting line-up for Jose Mourinho’s side, as he featured in a back three alongside Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sanchez.
However, the 20-year-old certainly did not look out of place among the more senior Spurs defenders, as he was even tasked with marking Sadio Mane.
The Tottenham academy graduate kept Mane quiet for the vast majority of the match, before switching to left-back and marking Mo Salah too.
Toby Alderweireld, who captained the side after his recent contract extension, has been singing the praises of Tanganga after the match.
Alderweireld said that Tanganga has a ‘wonderful’ game and proved himself up against a talented attacker, but must now kick on from here at Spurs. Tanganga’s contract is set to run out at the end of the season.
Alderweireld said (Standard): “I think he had a wonderful game. It was good for him that we had a clear week to train with a good tactical view of how we wanted to play and how he needed to play.
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“I think that helped him as well. Today he showed against a good opponent that he is a very talented boy.
“It’s a great learning experience and he has nothing to lose. He can be very proud of his own performance today.
“He showed today with the high step-up that he can cope. He’s 20 years old. He’s a guy who has a good head as well, he knows what he’s doing, he’s trying to improve and that’s the most important thing.
“He has to go from here but he can be very happy with his performance.”
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