Guglielmo Vicario slammed for ‘ridiculous’ moment in Tottenham loss v Liverpool
Tottenham have continued to face criticism for their decision-making, and Ange Postecoglou’s favourite, Guglielmo Vicario, is at the very centre of that.
While it is still mathematically possible to qualify for the Champions League, their ambitions took a huge blow after not being able to capitalise on Aston Villa’s 1-0 loss to Brighton.
The 4-2 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday 5 May saw Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott all score, with late consolations from Richarlison and Son Heung-Min.
Spurs have now conceded 13 goals in their last four matches, conceding multiple times against Newcastle United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and now Liverpool, with some fingers being pointed at Vicario.
It is already evident that the 27-year-old struggles in the air when it comes to catching crosses, evidenced by his average 55 percentile ranking for crosses stopped. [FBref]
However, a new problem may have been unearthed as Danny Murphy gave a scathing review of the shot-stopper as Tottenham attempted to play out from the back.
Speaking via BBC Match of the Day 2 on Sunday (5 May), he said: “At times, in recent weeks against good opposition, they keep making the same mistakes. And some of their decision-making when playing out from the back is beyond ridiculous.
“You go to Anfield, and you know they’re going to press. You have to make the right choice as a goalkeeper. He gives it to his full-back, who is running towards his own goalline.
“There’s now a six-v-four. You have to play unbelievable football to get out, but they don’t because Liverpool are one of the best.
“The manager won’t be that rigid. Most managers give players the freedom to make decisions – they’re not robots. They nearly give away a penalty here.”
Guglielmo Vicario causes more problems than saves in Tottenham v Liverpool
Despite maintaining a passing accuracy of 84 per cent at Anfield, it is clear that some of his choices were not appreciated by his teammates, or the media for that matter. [FotMob]
There are no doubts over Vicario’s shot-stopping ability, having made eight saves despite conceding four times against Liverpool, but that does not take away from the criticism.
If Postecoglou wants his team to be a possession-based team, he must be able to trust his goalkeeper and the decisions he makes on the pitch. And this looks to be the case as they hold an average of 63.5 per cent possession in their last four games. [FotMob]
Against Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, there were multiple occasions when the Spurs attacking front three had acres of space due to their opponent’s pressure in the final third. Despite this, Vicario completed zero long balls.
According to FBref, compared to goalkeepers in Europe’s top five leagues, the Italian only ranks in the bottom nine percentile for launched passes, which shows his lack of variety.
He also ranks in the bottom four percentile for the average length of his goal kicks. While Manchester City’s Ederson has a similar number of launched passes, he is much more effective when opting away from passing short. [FBref]
It could have been a different story at Anfield if the Tottenham ‘keeper was more comfortable with his long-range passing, especially as Son and Richarlison showcased the effectiveness of balls in behind.
In other Tottenham news, Levy has been hailed for his lucrative plans in North London.
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