Tottenham Hotspur once again had to rely on the heroics of Rodrigo Bentancur after they were pushed to the limit by Leeds United yesterday afternoon.
The north Londoners have now gone behind in eight matches in a row and once again left themselves with an uphill task against Jesse Marsch’s side following yet another slow start to a match.
Bentancur was shown a yellow card by referee Michael Salisbury in the 57th minute of the match which was his fifth of the season and as a result, will now be forced to sit out the first Premier League game following the resumption of the season on Boxing Day when Spurs make the short trip across London to face Brentford.
Somewhat frustratingly, it was not for a foul, but instead delaying a Leeds free-kick from being taken after remonstrating with the referee.
The Uruguayan took his tally to four in six games when he netted in the 81st and 83rd minutes to turn around Tottenham’s fortunes in front of their own fans to end a run of two consecutive defeats ahead of the mid-season break.
SpursWeb Opinion
Bentancur’s absence against Brentford is a big blow for Antonio Conte given how the Uruguyan has stepped up in recent weeks to help salvage some important results against the likes of Sporting CP, Bournemouth and now Leeds.
It will now be between Yves Bissouma and Oliver Skipp of who partners Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg against the Bees, unless the Italian reverts back to a 3-5-2.
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