BBC football pundit Garth Crooks has praised the performance of James Maddison following this weekend’s victory at Villa Park.
Tottenham headed to Aston Villa on Sunday in a crucial game in the race for Champions League qualification with the hosts knowing they would extend their advantage over the North Londoners to eight points in the Premier League table.
Ange Postecoglou‘s side dominated the match in the opening twenty minutes but were unable to make their pressure count having failed to register a shot on target before the break.
The second half was a completely different story with Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Heung-min Son and Timo Werner all scoring to help secure a 4-0 win for Tottenham over Aston Villa.
Maddison helped Tottenham to break the deadlock when he raced into the Villa penalty area to get himself on the end of Pape Matar Sarr‘s remarkable cross which only meant that the England international had to get a solid touch on the ball to get it beyond Emiliano Martínez.
Spurs have to keep James Maddison fit for Champions League qualification
Crooks wrote for BBC Sport: Nothing could stop Maddison from dominating the midfield. Spurs controlled this fixture against Aston Villa from start to finish and Maddison was at the heart of it. His goal was a peach only surpassed by the most glorious cross supplied by [Pape] Sarr. Maddison had to cover a great deal of ground to get into the six-yard box to get on the end of the cross.
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Tottenham’s performances have got gradually better since Maddison’s return from injury. However, there can be no doubt that if Spurs are going to pip Aston Villa and take the final Champions League spot, they have to keep Maddison fit.
SpursWeb Opinion
It has taken a few matches for Maddison to start finding his feet again following his return to action in late January.
Tottenham need Maddison to be at the top of his game for the remaining matches of the season, a player is his calibre deserves to be playing in the Champions League next season.
He has become a vital part of Ange Postecoglou’s first team squad at Tottenham and seems to be relishing the vice captaincy role.
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