Tottenham Hotspur were really poor against Wolves, but there was one Spurs player who Martin O’Neill has strongly criticised in the draw.
Joao Palhinha’s late strike helped rescue a 1-1 draw at home to Wolves as Tottenham Hotspur finally broke the visitors’ resistance.
The Midlands club claimed their first point of the season against Thomas Frank’s side, who were just not at the races on Saturday.
There were many dismal individual performances from Spurs’ stars against Wolves, but one player in particular has been heavily scrutinised.
Martin O’Neill criticises Rodrigo Bentancur’s display against Wolves
Martin O’Neill has slammed the display of Rodrigo Bentancur against Wolves, stating that the Uruguayan was ‘in and out of the game’ for too long.
The 28-year-old lost possession eight times and won just half of his duels during the match against the club from the Midlands.
Speaking about Spurs’ struggles, O’Neill told Premier League Live: “At half-time, we were talking about Bentancur, he’s in and out, he’s in and out of the game.
“You can’t afford a top-quality midfield player to be out of the game for 15 or 20 minutes. At a good spell, in any game, let alone at home.”
As revealed by TBR Football, Tottenham are in contract talks with Bentancur right now, but some of his recent displays should leave them questioning whether to actually offer him a new deal.
It’s clear that in games where Spurs are expected to have more of the ball, playing a midfield trio of Palhinha, Bentancur, and Lucas Bergvall is not the right move.
Frank opted not to use Xavi Simons at number ten, which appeared to be a mistake given his struggles to affect the game out on the left.
The Lilywhites travel away to Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League on Tuesday, and the Spurs boss will need to reassess his midfield selection in Norway.
Tottenham created just one big chance vs Wolves
Frank should be somewhat concerned by the fact that Tottenham created just one big chance and had an xG of just 0.87 against the team sitting at the bottom of the table.
The North London club have become quite reliant on set-pieces when forming notable attacks, and this won’t be sustainable for Frank’s team long-term.
Spurs have made a strong start to life under the 51-year-old, but he will need to consider how he is setting up his team in the middle of the park.
Moving Simons into a more central role and dropping one of Pape Matar Sarr or Bergvall alongside Bentancur or Palhinha looks to be one solution Frank must try.