Dejan Kulusevski struggled as Nottingham Forest beat Tottenham 1-0. Credit: Imago

Kulusevski has questions to answer after what Tottenham star did v Nott'm Forest

Senior Correspondent AUTHORITY Senior football journalist specialising in refereeing and officiating; former contributor to The Football League Paper, Late Tackle, and the Premier League; University of Derby graduate. FOCUS Refereeing controversies, football finance and governance, PGMOL decisions, and officiating analysis across the Premier League, EFL, and SPFL. THE INSIGHT Harri utilises a network of officiating and industry contacts to deliver verified, expert analysis of refereeing decisions and PGMOL policy. He provides the regulatory clarity behind the controversy to ensure fans get the full picture.

Published on:

26 Dec 2024, 12:40 pm

Tim Sherwood seemed to be Dejan Kulusevski's biggest fan before Tottenham fell to a 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Thursday.

The Swedish international has been brilliant in the final third so far this season, notching five goals and three assists in the Premier League.

He was even being dubbed Spurs' "Player of the Season so far" by Sherwood while speaking ahead of the clash on Amazon Prime [26 December, 3:03pm].

However, Ange Postecoglou will feel let down by the 24-year-old's display, or lack thereof, as Spurs were handed yet another defeat after being hammered 6-3 by Liverpool last time out.

Eyebrows were raised when the manager decided to drop James Maddison from the starting XI, and having been brought on to cause trouble, he may now feel that the two should have swapped.

Dejan Kulusevski lets Ange Postecoglou down in Tottenham defeat

Kulusevski survived the full 90 minutes on the pitch but his impact was far from what's become expected of him, unable to even register a single shot on target (0/1), as per FotMob.

He also only completed 80 per cent of his passes, created an xG of 0.02, completed just 33 per cent of his dribbles, was dispossessed three times and delivered zero accurate crosses.

The Swede was even dribbled past in the middle of the park, won just 15 per cent of his ground duels and made three fouls against a tricky Forest midfield, but managed to avoid a booking.

Tottenham ace Dejan Kulusevski [Credit: Imago]

Spurs are experiencing an extremely frustrating season under Postecoglou and now one of their best-performing stars has seen his form drop significantly, providing more questions for the manager to answer.

Only Postecoglou will know how he can excuse the performance and the extremely poor result, even if Nuno Espirito Santo's side have moved into third in the Premier League.

In other Tottenham news, Cristian Romero has been told to bite his tongue until sealing his exit from Hotspur Way.

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Tottenham

Ange Postecoglou

Dejan Kulusevski

Nottingham forest