Richarlison ruthlessly mocked by Gabby Agbonlahor as Tottenham striker baffles Ian Wright in win vs Burnley
Richarlison’s struggles as the Tottenham number nine were on full display in the laboured 1-0 win over Burnley to advance in the FA Cup on Friday (5 January).
The Brazilian has had a tough time since his £60million switch from Everton two summers’ ago [Sky Sports], but with Harry Kane now at Bayern Munich and Son Heung-min away at the Asian Cup this month the pressure is on his shoulders in a big way.
Based on his performance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium it looks like Ange Postecoglou could have a problem while his South Korean star captain is absent, which ex-Aston Villa forward Gabby Agbonlahor made fun of online during the game.
The talkSPORT pundit posted on Twitter during the cup tie: “If Richarlison wasn’t Brazilian he would be playing for Mansfield”.
The 26-year-old’s night was an unwelcome return to the sort of showing that has been too common in his season and a half in North London, with his recent run of five Premier League goals in as many starts forgotten as he offered little in front of goal.
According to SofaScore stats Richarlison only had 24 total touches in his 83 minutes on the pitch, with just two shots, one of which was off target.
While he completed 12 of just 17 passes (71%) and made a single key pass he didn’t find a target with one cross, and his all-round game wasn’t much better.
Richarlison failed to win any of his four duels during the game (0%) while he lost possession eight times and committed two fouls according to SofaScore, but his night was arguably summed up by how he reacted when a loose ball fell to him in the area just before the goal.
Not only did he not get an effort on goal he failed to do much of anything with it in a dangerous area, with the ball subsequently cleared before Pedro Porro came forward again to smash it in.
The Spanish defender spared his Brazilian teammate’s blushes as he fired home a stunning winner from outside the area in the 78th minute, but showed the sort of deadliness from distance that Richarlison hadn’t be able to from close range.
Ian Wright said live on the ITV analysis after the final whistle (10.04),”I couldn’t understand what Richarlison was doing here,” as he failed to have a shot on goal prior to the wonder-strike.
If the former Everton and Watford man is to have a long-term future at the club, and if Postecoglou is going to avoid his season being derailed again, then the Tottenham number nine needs to carry the load this month.
He has looked like coming good in recent weeks, but in a Spurs shirt his rough night in the cup was all too familiar, and if it proves to be anything but a blip it will spell trouble for the club’s campaign.
In other Tottenham news, a BBC Sport pundit has slammed another Spurs attacker and says he has no future at the club.