Bentancur ‘should be embarrassed’ by what he did at full-time after Tottenham loss
Rodrigo Bentancur embarrassed himself on Thursday night after Tottenham were steamrolled by Liverpool at Anfield.
The embarrassment Spurs had caused their travelling supporters on Thursday night (6 February) was busting out the sides of the stadium, inside which Arne Slot’s Liverpool cruised through to the Carabao Cup final without so much as breaking a sweat despite trailing on aggregate after the first leg.
Spurs’ 1-0 win in the first leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium essentially meant nothing as Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk all scored in a 4-0 rout for the Premier League leaders.
Tottenham dud Bentancur tried to sulk off Anfield pitch
At full-time, according to Alasdair Gold of Football London (7 February), 18-year-old Lucas Bergvall – scorer in the first leg victory last month – had to drag Bentancur from his sulked amble towards the tunnel and remind him to applaud the away section after their tepid performance.
It’s a common theme at times with players when their team have suffered a heavy defeat – they hurt, they’re embarrassed, they want to get down the tunnel and out of sight as much as possible.
What about the supporters? Bentancur won’t be paying for any fuel back down the M6, he won’t be in an office or on a bitterly cold construction site two hours after getting through the front door.
All for what? An anxious laugh with a few like-minded friends and family who support Spurs, while goal after goal is bashed in at the Kop to set up holders Liverpool’s Wembley meeting with Newcastle United.
The least you expect is some degree of apologetic applause from the squad, which was rightfully given. Bergvall is an impressive character for his age, and goes up in the estimations of any who noticed how he had to remind an experienced pro and very gifted footballer of his due responsibility at full-time.
Players will be down; they won’t speak to staff; their hoods will go up. It’s all about them because they’re the ones on the pitch. But the disrespect sometimes can be outrageous, though there’d have been little malice – Bentancur probably didn’t even think.
Spurs have to give their fans more
Granted, Liverpool are probably Europe’s most dominant force this season. From defence to attack, they are a simply supreme footballing outfit, and Tottenham have fallen victim to them not for the first time in recent months.
But given Postecoglou’s men had appeared to pride themselves on their progress outside of the league – they still remain in the FA Cup at least until Tottenham face Aston Villa on Sunday (9 January), and the Europa League last 16 – it was a pathetic performance in truth.
Ange Postecoglou admitted his side were nowhere near at the races as they were scalded at full-time, Jamie Carragher even claiming Liverpool’s recent FA Cup opponents Accrington Stanley offered the Reds a stronger fight.
The fans will be there at Villa this weekend, and there are plenty of players who won’t be when the injury list clears up. Bentancur is among those who have to remember that.