Another painful afternoon has been added to the annals of the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, as Roberto De Zerbi and his men completely crumbled to Aston Villa. At least their two largely academic late goals mean the Lilywhites don’t go into the international break goalless.
Here are our three losers and three winners from the encounter…
Roberto De Zerbi wants more from Mateus Fernandes
It’s difficult to earnestly call Mateus Fernandes’ performance against Aston Villa a poor one, especially with how dominant Spurs were during the first half.
Despite yet again being deployed as the no. 10, a role he’s shown little comfort in carrying out, Fernandes delivered a competent half of football and was a crucial player for Tottenham’s first-half buildup and attacking play.
But Roberto De Zerbi’s expectations of Mateus Fernandes apparently had little to do with the player’s or the team’s performance, as the Italian made the call to take off Fernandes at halftime and replace him with Mohammed Kudus.
De Zerbi’s decisions were hardly vindicated, as after Fernandes’ substitution, Spurs’ possession became much less dangerous and controlled, as Tottenham conceded twice soon after.
Whatever offence Fernandes made that warranted De Zerbi taking him off also earned him a public call-out during the press conference after the game, with the Italian saying he expects more from the midfielder.
Pedro Porro forced into a spell on the Tottenham sidelines
Learning from their disastrous injury record last season, Spurs have been incredibly careful with managing the fitness and load of their players. And while this strategy may yet pay dividends later on in the season, it hasn’t just yet.
Pedro Porro missed out on Spurs’ midweek fixture away at Anfield with a muscular issue but was deemed fit enough to play on Saturday. But despite a very bright start in which he lit up Spurs’ right flank when combining with Savio, the fullback ultimately only managed just over 20 minutes before suffering another injury.
While the extended international break means that De Zerbi, his players, and the fans have three weeks instead of the usual two to mull over the defeat, there is at least some hope that the extra week will give Porro enough time to recover for Spurs’ crucial games against Manchester United.
Dominic Solanke looked out of place for Tottenham vs Aston Villa
If Dominic Solanke doesn’t quickly rediscover his form, Roberto De Zerbi will surely rue not bringing in a Premier League-quality striker during the summer transfer window.
Against Villa, Solanke proves useful when leading the press, especially during the first half; he was a negligible presence in the box and looked desperately uncomfortable with the ball at his feet.
Understandably, there was a lot of goodwill from De Zerbi towards the forward suffering what seemed like constant injuries for the better part of his career at Tottenham, as the Italian manager still hopes Solanke will be able to return to his levels from his time at Bournemouth and under Ange Postecoglou.
But as things stand, the striker still looks miles off those levels, and Tottenham no longer have time to spare if they still want to compete in the top half of the table this season.
And now for our three winners from the Tottenham defeat…
Spurs are a better team with James Maddison on the pitch
Every minute played by James Maddison is a minute closer he is to full fitness, which is absolutely crucial for Tottenham’s short-term prospects with how desperately short of options they are in attacking midfield.
Maddison would have been obviously disappointed he wasn’t able to contribute to the game with a goal or an assist, and in all truthfulness, his performance didn’t pull up trees either (he was also partially at fault for Buendia’s goal).
But as things stand, James Maddison’s creativity and technicality are amongst the most invaluable and unique abilities in the Tottenham squad, and every game the midfielder gets through without a new injury is a game closer to him being able to start a game of football. The extended international break gives Maddison almost three weeks of continued training, hopefully putting him in contention for a place in the starting lineup when Spurs take on Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Conor Gallagher reminded everyone he’s still a part of the Tottenham squad
Despite staying on the pitch for a total of 15 minutes, Conor Gallagher managed to put in a pretty convincing argument as to why he shouldn’t be discounted.
It’s the second successive time the midfielder managed to pull a goal back late in the match, and his cameo against Villa showed that his energy and willingness to run himself ragged for the team can be useful tools in some game scenarios.
Conor Gallagher is currently the only fit-to-start number 10 in the Tottenham squad, and with De Zerbi explicitly voicing his disapproval of Mateus Fernandes’ performance, it’s not impossible to see the manager rewarding Gallagher with a start in Tottenham’s next fixture.
All of Tottenham’s positive attacking play is coming through Savio
Although Savio’s efforts weren’t rewarded with a goal or an assist, he was comfortably one of Tottenham’s most dangerous players on the day. The young Brazilian seems to be thriving, as De Zerbi’s main attacker will consistently run at his fullback, take up dangerous positions, and try to create chances for his teammates, even if his end product hasn’t fully materialised yet.
Savio’s three shots on target all took exceptional stops to save, and were it not for a keeper playing out of their mind on the day, he would have left the game with at least a goal to his name.
Savinho’s versatility is proving a huge asset to De Zerbi, as the winger looks equally good (if not better) on the left side as he does on the right. If the Brazilian is able to keep up this level of performance, it’s only a matter of time before he finally puts his name on the scoresheet.