Jermaine Jenas wowed by ‘perfect’ Brennan Johnson for Tottenham in 3-3 draw v Manchester City
The clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City on Sunday 3 December had it all, with goals flying in at both ends, controversial decisions and plenty of needle between the two sides.
There was drama up until the final minutes as Dejan Kulusevski headed home a late equaliser to send the travelling supporters into delirium and end Spurs’ three-match losing run with his fourth Premier League goal of the campaign.
While plenty of praise will be paid to the Swede for keeping his cool at such a crucial point of proceedings, Jermaine Jenas was keen to pick out Brennan Johnson for his role in the late equaliser, suggesting the Welshman’s work was “perfect” down the left flank.
Speaking on Match of the Day 2 (3 December, 16:46) he said: “I thought Brennan Johnson really came into the game in the second half. This is perfect wide play, one giving a great delivery and one attacking that far post.
“Given what’s happened the last couple of weeks, Wolves, Villa, massive result but a well-deserved point.”
Jenas was right to suggest that Johnson’s display was “perfect” with the 22-year-old’s only attempted cross in the match being the one that supplied Kulusevski’s late equaliser, as he was accurate with 100 per cent of his balls into the area [Fotmob].
Considering just how good the ball into the area from the Welshman was on Sunday, it is a shame that he hasn’t played many crosses at all this season. Currently, he places in the 23rd percentile of Premier League wingers for crosses attempted per 90, averaging only 1.42 a game [Fbref].
However, when Johnson does create a chance it more often than not leads to a goal. The 22-year-old falls in the bottom 32 per cent of forwards for shot-creating actions per game, but the top eight per cent for goal-creating actions per 90 minutes.
Ange Postecoglou will want the Welshman to contribute more regularly in the final third in terms of creating chances, but when he manages to pop up with crucial assists just as he did at the Etihad despite being quiet in games, it doesn’t ultimately matter how many chances he makes for teammates.
Currently, Johnson is benefiting from the excellent finishing of his Spurs teammates. He may sit in the 82nd percentile for assists per match, but he lies in the 27th percentile for expected assists per 90 minutes, meaning he has far more assists than his deliveries have warranted.
Johnson wasn’t as perfect throughout the rest of the game as he repeatedly surrendered possession to Manchester City, only completing 50 per cent of his 22 attempted passes, losing possession 13 times across the entirety of the game [Sofascore].
However, against the impressive attacking talent of Pep Guardiola’s side, Johnson worked incredibly hard out of possession to try and nullify the likes of Jeremy Doku and Bernardo Silva. The Welsh international won four of his six ground duels in the game and also came away with possession in his only tackle.
When he was signed from Nottingham Forest this summer, few Tottenham fans would have expected perfection immediately from the 22-year-old, but there were enough elements of his performance against the Premier League champions to suggest that he is more than capable of being a success in North London.
In other Tottenham news, Spurs’ injury problems have increased with it now even spreading to the academy players