Fabrizio Romano praises impact of Tottenham shot-stopper Guglielmo Vicario after display v Everton
Tottenham recorded their third consecutive Premier League win with a 2-1 home victory over Everton on Saturday 23 December, but will feel that they perhaps had their goalkeeper to thank for the points.
Coming off a five-match winless streak, Ange Postecoglou’s side will feel as if they have finally turned a corner after a third consecutive victory against one of the Premier League’s in-form sides.
Ahead of their visit to north London, Sean Dyche’s side had won four league matches on the bounce without conceding but were stopped in their tracks by Postecoglou’s Spurs.
Richarlison scored against his former side to open the scoring after nine minutes, recording his fourth goal in three matches, before Son Heung-min doubled the Tottenham lead in the 18th minute.
Andre Gomes gave the hosts a late scare when he halved the deficit in the 82nd minute, but in the end, Spurs were able to hold on for an important three points which sees them spend Christmas in the top four.
However, Postecoglou, Tottenham’s supporters and Guglielmo Vicario’s teammates will know that they owe a big debt to the Italian goalkeeper after yet another sensational performance from the club’s brand-new number one.
Journalist Fabrizio Romano posted Postecoglou’s quotes after the match to his official X platform (23 December), with a reminder of the £16.4million fee that was paid to bring the 27-year-old to the club this past summer, which is beginning to look more and more like a steal with each passing match.
Postecoglou told the media, “Guglielmo Vicario’s saves were crucial for us. He’s been brilliant again today.”
Romano mentioned that Vicario is loved by his Spurs teammates, and it is not hard to see why after his performance against the Toffees.
As per Sofascore, the former Empoli shot-stopper prevented 1.48 goals and made seven saves, with six of those coming from inside the box.
In addition to this, Vicario was successful with both of his runs outside the box, reinforcing his position as one of the league’s best sweeper-keepers, while he also made three high claims, completed 83 per cent of his passes and won his one ground duel.
One of his most important saves came toward the end of the match with Tottenham holding on as Everton pushed for a late equaliser.
As Arnaut Danjuma lined up to take a shot from the edge of the box against his former side, Vicario was alert to the danger.
The Italian was equal to the powerful shot from Danjuma and produced a wonderful diving save to tip the ball over the bar and help his side secure all three points.
It was a characteristic performance from the goalkeeper who has been performing at a high level ever since he arrived in England.
As per fbref, Vicario’s save percentage of 71.4 per cent places him in the top 28 per cent of Premier League shot-stoppers this season, while he sits in the top two per cent of his positional peers in England’s top flight for the number of defensive actions he has made outside of the penalty area so far this season (2.41 per 90).
Considering Vicario’s age and immediate impact, Spurs could have answered their goalkeeping questions for the next decade in north London.
In other Tottenham news, one Spurs expert wants agents working on a particular defensive January transfer right now.