Tottenham: King slams Guglielmo Vicario despite comeback win v Crystal Palace in Premier League
Ex-Tottenham employee Bryan King believes Guglielmo Vicario was “at fault” for Crystal Palace’s goal against Spurs on Saturday (2 March).
Ange Postecoglou’s side returned to winning ways with a 3-1 home victory over their South London rivals at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
However, it was far from straightforward with the hosts made to work for the three points after Eberechi Eze, who has been linked with a move to Spurs, put Palace ahead via a fabulous free-kick midway through the second half.
In the end, goals from Timo Werner, Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min rescued the day for Postecoglou, and King believes that Vicario would have had a lot to answer for had it not been for those three late strikes.
Speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, King said: “I thought Vicario was at fault for the goal, it was a goalkeeping error. I thought he gave himself a lot to do.
“He got nowhere near the strike even at full stretch. For me, you don’t stand behind your wall, he left too much space on the left-hand side of the goal, which was where Eze put the ball.
“As a result, I would put the blame on him for the goal, and there would have certainly been plenty of fingers pointed his way if Palace had held on and won 1-0.”
Ange Postecoglou will forgive Guglielmo Vicario after his performances at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season
Vicario has come under fire in recent weeks and the Itallian shot-stopper was perhaps at fault once again against Palace.
However, it would be hard to point too many fingers in his direction after what has been a largely wonderful debut campaign in the Premier League for the 27-year-old.
While he hasn’t been flawless, he has certainly saved Spurs more times than he has cost them since he arrived from Serie A side Empoli for an initial fee of £17.2million (Sky Sports News, 27 June).
Very few Spurs supporters would have heard much about Vicario before he arrived in England, but he has certainly wasted little time making a name for himself in the Premier League.
He was recently named Goalkeeper of the Year at the London Football Awards (29 February), and with plenty of years left ahead of him, it appears that Spurs have their long-term future between the sticks sorted.
He might make a mistake here or there, but it would be hard to find too many Premier League goalkeepers who have had a better season than Vicario.
In other Tottenham news, one ex-Spurs player was blown away by the “superb” performance of one of Vicario’s teammates against Palace.
For more Tottenham news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.