Ex-Man United defender slams Tottenham star who ‘struggled’ vs Doncaster
Tottenham cruised to a routine 3-0 win over Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
The Lilywhites have made a bright start to the season under Thomas Frank, and they quickly erased any hopes of a cup upset in the early stages of the game.
Joao Palhinha gave Tottenham the lead with an overhead kick in the 14th minute, before an own goal from the visitors’ Jay McGrath just three minutes later gave the League One side a mountain to climb.
Brennan Johnson then capped off the result with a clinical finish following a breakaway in stoppage time.
The hosts ultimately enjoyed an easy night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but one star has still come under scrutiny for his performance.
Paul Parker slams Pedro Porro for incident vs Doncaster
Pedro Porro has started the season well for Tottenham, and was perhaps a surprise inclusion in the starting XI for the clash with Doncaster.
The Spain international has started in every single competitive game for Spurs so far this term, and many were expecting him to be rested in the Carabao Cup as a result.
Nevertheless, the right-back featured heavily again for Spurs, and he arguably showed signs of potential physical and mental fatigue during a key moment of the game in the first half.
- Porro has missed just 20 minutes of competitive football for Spurs all season
- No Spurs player played more than his 2610 Premier League minutes in 2024/25
- He completed seven defensive actions against Doncaster and won 60% of his duels
Doncaster’s best chance of the game came when Antonin Kinsky was called upon to tip Owen Bailey’s volley onto the post.
It was a superb intervention from the Czechia international, but the situation could easily have been prevented had Porro defended better out on the right flank.
Former Manchester United and England defender Paul Parker was quick to jump on the error from the 26-year-old.
“That was going in the bottom corner, and that could have made all the difference, and it was down to Porro,” Parker said on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3.
“Porro was working hard to get back, struggled to get back, didn’t stop the cross, and the ball gets to the back of the six-yard box and what a great volley that was.”
Pedro Porro needs a rest at Tottenham
Porro has been heavily involved for both Spurs and his country so far this season, and he showed signs of needing a rest in the clash with Doncaster.
He wasn’t quite as sharp as he normally is, either with or without the ball, and that was telling when he was defending that attack.
Frank was understandably keen to avoid any threat of an embarrassing result against his side’s third-tier opponents, but this was a perfect opportunity to give the likes of Porro the night off.
Instead, he now faces the possibility of having to leave the right-back out of either a Premier League or Champions League clash, if he breaks down.
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