Tottenham ‘passenger’ torn to shreds by media in ‘terrible’ Liverpool display
Tottenham were thumped 4-0 by Liverpool in the second leg of their Carabao Cup tie on Thursday.
Going into the game, Spurs were leading the Reds 1-0 on aggregate after Ange Postecoglou led his team to a surprise win against Arne Slot’s men last month.
The Carabao Cup was one of Spurs’ main chances of earning a trophy this season and to see it taken away from them in the manner it was, was likely quite devastating for fans.
However, the squad only have themselves to blame with the North London outfit failing to even register a single shot on target throughout the entirety of the 90-minute clash.
Which, in itself, shows the gulf in quality between both sides and outlines why Tottenham find themselves towards the lower-end of the Premier League table.
Some new players were added to their ranks to improve their chances of ending in the top half but it feels like far more should have been done by Spurs when they had the chance to do so.
National media slam Tottenham ace after performance v Liverpool
While none of Spurs’ players really deserve any plaudits, aside from perhaps Son Heung-min, it feels like Rodrigo Bentancur’s performance was particularly poor.
The Uruguay international has been a mainstay within Postecoglou’s squad since the start of the season and while there have been times when he’s produced moments of class, his performance against the Reds was way below par.
In fact, in the print edition of the Daily Mail (7 February, page 75), the midfielder was dubbed “terrible” and was given a 4/10 for his overall rating.
“Rodrigo Bentancur: Often lost possession cheaply and struggled to cope with Szoboszlai’s incisive runs off the ball. Terrible display,” they wrote.
The Standard also shared the same thought process with the newspaper reporting via their website (6 February) that he was a “passenger” in the game.
“Struggled to make any impact on the game against Liverpool’s all-action midfield and was largely a passenger,” they wrote.
Ange Postecoglou needs to find a way to turn things around
The 2024/25 season has been far from ideal for Tottenham with the future of Postecoglou often being discussed by fans and pundits alike.
This season was supposed to be different for the North London outfit with the likes of Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall being added to their ranks to help support Spurs’ first-team.
However, due to the sheer amount of injuries that they’ve suffered this term, the youngsters have become regular first-teamers, which, at the ages of 18 and 19, feels like a lot of weight to place upon their shoulders, especially when Gray is being played out of position at centre-back.
The future of the Australian at Tottenham has been brought into question on multiple occasions and while Daniel Levy has kept him in charge for now, it’s hard to see how Postecoglou can keep his job if results don’t improve soon.
The Carabao Cup was arguably Spurs’ best chance at silverware this season and even though they still have the FA Cup and Europa League to compete for, in the current form they’re in, it’s hard to see how they will reach the final of either competition.