After a strong start to the season, Richarlison’s form appears to be tailing off, and the Tottenham striker’s latest performance for Brazil may pose a problem for Thomas Frank.
The Tottenham Hotspur striker was arguably the club’s best performer across the first three games of the season against Paris Saint-Germain, Burnley and Man City.
Richarlison even won the Premier League Player of the Week award in gameweek one for his brilliant brace in the 3-0 win over the Clarets.
However, the 28-year-old struggled in the 1-0 loss to Bournemouth, being bullied by the Cherries centre-halves and failing to give Spurs an out-ball when they were under pressure. It appears that his struggles have continued during the international break.
Brazilian media were not impressed with Richarlison against Bolivia
The former Everton man got just 11 minutes under his belt in Brazil’s 3-0 win at home against Chile last week, with Chelsea’s Joao Pedro getting the nod to start as the number nine.
However, Carlo Ancelotti gave Richarlison an opportunity to lead the line away at Bolivia on Tuesday, but the Spurs man failed to take his chance as the Selecao fell to a 1-0 defeat.
Richarlison was replaced by Pedro on 61 minutes, and the Brazilian media were not too impressed with what they saw from the Tottenham striker.
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GE Globo gave him a 5/10 and wrote: “He was rarely called upon. On his only chance, in the 37th minute of the first half, he controlled the ball, burst into the box, and struck hard, but the ball deflected off the defender.
“He left the game during the first substitution, in the 17th minute of the second half. He has remained goalless for the national team since the World Cup in Qatar.”
Will Thomas Frank be tempted to start Randal Kolo Muani?
Richarlison’s mini-slump in form is a cause for concern for Thomas Frank, particularly given that there remain doubts over Dominic Solanke’s fitness.
However, Frank’s squad has been boosted with Tottenham’s deadline-day loan signing of Randal Kolo Munai, who adds experience and firepower to the Spurs frontline.