David Villa has described Rodrigo Bentancur as a ‘top-quality player’ but remarked that the Tottenham man should have found the back of the net in the first half of Uruguay’s clash against Portugal on Monday.
Bentancur has been one of Tottenham’s most consistent performers in the first part of the 2022-23 season and is an extremely important cog in Uruguay’s midfield.
The South American side have picked up just one point from their first two group matches against South Korea and Portugal, and thus have to beat Ghana to give themselves a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages.
Things could have been a lot different for Diego Alonso’s men as Bentancur had a golden opportunity to give them the lead in the first half of the encounter against Portugal.
The Spurs star went on an Amazing solo run in the 32nd minute, carrying the ball more than half the length of the pitch and beating three Portuguese defenders to find himself one on one with Diogo Costa in goal, but the 24-year-old could not produce the finish required finish.
Villa believes that Bentancur should have tried to chip the goalkeeper rather than to slide the ball in between his legs.
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He told beIN SPORTS – 28/11/22 at 7:55 pm about the incident: “I thought he was going to chip. But no, he decided to put it through the legs of the goalkeeper.
“I probably chip it. But Bentancur is fantastic and a top-quality player. But he’s not used to having this type of chance.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Villa was the master of the lobbed finish and so, I am sure he would have chipped the goalkeeper with ease if he had found himself in that position. I actually felt that Bentancur made the right decision by trying to slide the ball under Costa, who was trying to make himself as big as possible.
Had the Spurs star kept the ball along the ground, it would have gone through Costa’s legs but his execution of the finish was poor as he lifted the ball a meter off the ground, which meant that the ball hit the Portugal number one.
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