Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham side continue to motor on with their 2-1 victory over Hungarian opposition Ferencvaros on Thursday evening their fifth win on the spin in all competitions.
This has been quite the week for Ange and Co who went to Manchester United and ruthlessly demolished Erik ten Hag’s side last weekend too.
Dejan Kulusevski put on a passing clinic and Brennan Johnson continued his fine form in Lilywhite. Did he sparkle again in Budapest? Of course, he did.
The Welshman didn’t start the game but appeared off the bench to score for the fifth consecutive game running.
Since that abuse, since his self-imposed social media ban, he has been a man possessed and has quickly become a vital part of this Spurs team.
He very much remains the future of this squad and we got to see plenty of other future stars on Thursday.
Spurs' young stars steal the show
Europa League group-stage ties are never the most taxing of affairs and thus, English sides usually use it as a tournament in which to test out the stars of tomorrow.
Tottenham went quite strong last week against Qarabag but were definitely weaker on their visit to Hungary with teenagers Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Will Lankshear and Mikey Moore all starting the tie.
Did they impress? Of course, they did. Moore is perhaps the one with the biggest amount of potential and he certainly caught the eye in midweek with Football.London reporter Alasdair Gold waxing lyrical over ‘a thrilling full debut’ from the 17-year-old.
Partner in crime, Lankshear, was also promising in what Gold described as a ‘really hardworking debut’ from the teenage centre-forward.
He may have only seen 18 touches of the ball but he did complete each and every one of his ten passes, as well as registering two shots.
As far as Moore was concerned, he attempted six dribbles on the night and was a constant thorn in the Ferencvaros defence, always looking to make things happen.
While losing the ball is usually not a good thing – he did so 25 times last night – it was indicative of the risk and determination with which the Hotspur Way graduate possessed.
It wasn’t all bright for Tottenham, though, as Timo Werner failed to match the performance levels of some of his younger colleagues.
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Timo Werner's performance in numbers
You cannot fault the attitude of Werner. You cannot fault the desire. You cannot fault the pace and determination either.
This is a player with a mighty fine set of skills but things things aren’t happening for him at the moment. As the BBC’s Elliott Soraff said during the game, his confidence right now is “non-existent”.
He was guilty of spurning a few chances away at Old Trafford last weekend, notably sticking the ball straight at Andre Onana when one-on-one in the first half.
Thus, this match represented the ideal chance to regain a bit of confidence against relative European minnows. Did the German succeed? Arguably not.
Minutes played
65
Touches
31
Accurate passes
20/23 (87%)
Shots
2
Dribbles
1/2
Key passes
1
Crosses
1/1
Duels won
1/3
Possession lost
5x
Expected goals (xG)
0.19
Expected assists (xA)
0.36
Handed a 5/10 match rating by Football.London he was criticised for another dismal effort in front of goal. It was another gilt-edged opportunity that the former Chelsea star missed after being set free by Moore.
The goal was gaping, all he had to do was fire it past the goalkeeper. Instead, his touch was horrible and then he fired into the side-netting having been reduced to taking his effort from a tight angle. Simply, he got it all wrong.
On the night, he ended up having fewer touches (31) than goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario (43), won just one of his three duels and supplied only a solitary key pass.
This was such a fine invitation to prove himself to Postecoglou and the coaching staff but truth be told, he didn’t do enough. On this showing, Spurs are better off handing more regular minutes to Moore. Don’t be surprised to find the German on the bench in a few days time.
Alongside Moore: Spurs' 7/10 star stole the show vs Ferencvaros
The Lilywhites continued their strong start to life in Europe…
ByJoe NuttallOct 3, 2024