Thomas Frank has lauded the performance of Xavi Simons for Tottenham against Brighton, but admits he could have had a goal and an assist.
While Tottenham Hotspur started on the front foot at the Amex Stadium, pinning Brighton back, the home side scored two early goals against the run of play.
With Spurs 2-0 down with a little over half an hour played, it was looking like it may be one of those difficult away days in the Premier League, which the Lilywhites endured a lot of last season.
It would have been easy for the Spurs players to let their heads drop, especially after their mid-week exertions against Villarreal, but instead, they rallied and fought back, deservedly leaving the South Coast with a point.
Thomas Frank was very pleased with Xavi Simons’ impact in Tottenham draw
The Dane decided to start with Lucas Bergvall as the number ten behind a double pivot of Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur, but the game changed when he replaced the Uruguayan with Xavi Simons on 61 minutes.
The new Tottenham signing looked extremely lively, and Frank hailed his impact, but admitted that the Dutchman could have ended up with a goal and an assist to his name.
When asked what he thought of Xavi’s performance, the Tottenham boss told Football.London: “Yeah, I’m very, very pleased with that. I think Xavi came in and did exactly what we thought he could do in that 10 position. Of course, he had a good pre-season and he played two games in Germany and all that, but he’s still coming into a team and all that.
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“And I think on any other day, he’d score a goal. He got a great finish on the first one, great save from Verbruggen. And the other one, he mistimes. And I think maybe he could have got an assist to Richy, where Lucas takes the ball, he doesn’t see him.”
Frank makes an admission about Xavi’s position
Xavi has said that he prefers playing as a number ten, and on the evidence of his display against the Seagulls, one can understand why.
The former RB Leipzig man looked far more threatening when he picked up the ball in the central areas as opposed to out wide, but Frank insists that the 22-year-old is more than capable of playing on the left.
When asked if playing as a 10 is a more natural position for Xavi, the Tottenham boss responded: “I think he can play both. I think he can easily play the left winger, that can go more inside. I also think he’d have the right position too.
“Sometimes the playmakers, they drift to the side because there’s no space in the middle. So I think he can do that. But 10, obviously, he can play that as well.”