Jamie Carragher is in disbelief at what Mathys Tel did against Leeds United after giving Tottenham the lead with a superb goal.
It looked like Tel was set to be hailed as the hero who put Tottenham in the driving seat in the battle for survival after the Frenchman produced a world-class finish on 50 minutes to put the home side 1-0 up.
However, the forward himself threw away the chance to be a hero after an inexplicable decision to attempt an overhead kick inside Spurs’ own box, only to catch Ethan Ampadu, leaving the referee no choice but to point to the spot.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin dispatched the penalty past Antonin Kinsky to ensure that Roberto De Zerbi’s wait for a home win goes on, and the relegation battle remains alive.
Jamie Carragher blasts Tottenham’s Mathys Tel for ‘crazy decision’
Carragher admitted that it is difficult to understand what was going through Tel’s mind, pointing out that the forward had seen Ampadu running towards him to challenge for the ball.
The Liverpool legend suggested that the 21-year-old Spurs star had enough time to pull out of the overhead kick.
When asked about the penalty awarded to Leeds, Carragher told Sky Sports (via The Standard): “It’s just a crazy decision from Tel. What you think sometimes is we’ve been there sometimes as players where you don’t see the opposition player coming in. But he’s about to make his decision and he sees him, he looks.
“So he’s made his decision but as soon as he knows there’s someone there, it has to change. He still has time, he’s got to change his mind. I thought he hadn’t seen him initially, but he has. It’s a really, really poor decision. We’re talking about a young attacking player, making two ridiculous decisions in this game.”
Carragher explains why Roberto De Zerbi cannot be harsh on Tel
Speaking after his side’s 1-1 draw, De Zerbi only had positive things to say about Tel, referring to the Frenchman as a ‘big talent’ and putting his error down to a lack of experience.
Carragher believes that the Spurs boss has no choice but to hide his frustration and boost the 21-year-old’s confidence, given how important the former Bayern Munich man is for his side’s upcoming clashes.
The pundit added about Tel’s mistake: “De Zerbi will be furious – but he’s got to remember he’s a young attacking player who has actually made a massive difference to Spurs right now. He came off the bench at Wolves, got the corner and the winning goal. He set up the second goal at Villa, and he scored the goal tonight.
“He needs him, because they haven’t got players with injuries but there’s a player there. We’ve seen that in the last couple of games. You’d be going nuts, but the good at the other end – everything we showed that was good from Spurs in the first half, and then he scored the goal in the second half. That’s the art of management, and De Zerbi knows that a lot better than me.”