Thomas Frank unlocks Xavi Simons after what he did vs Copenhagen, now he must stick to it
Thomas Frank’s decision to bench Joao Palhinha meant that Xavi Simons had his best game in a Tottenham shirt in their 4-0 win over Copenhagen in the Champions League.
Tottenham signed Simons from RB Leipzig over the summer as a replacement for James Maddison, who sustained an ACL injury against Newcastle United during pre-season.
However, the Dutch international has struggled with his performances since arriving in North London, which has left Spurs supporters wondering if he’s fit to wear their shirt.
But it now seems that fans will finally see the version of Simons that most believed they were getting when he put pen to paper.
Where Thomas Frank went wrong with Xavi Simons
Simons has recorded 0.12 expected assists and accumulated 0.06 non-penalty expected goals in the Premier League, according to NathanAClark via X on 2 November.
This is a poor record, but it’s unsurprising given that he is receiving progressive passes at a 15th percentile rate with 4.76 per game.
This means that his teammates are not feeding him the ball in areas where he is most effective, and this is evident considering how many touches he’s averaged this season.
Indeed, the attacking midfielder has averaged 42.6 touches in the Premier League this season. To put that into perspective, he averaged 68 touches in the Bundesliga last season.
Given the context, the fact that he’s almost in the top 10 per cent percentile for carries into the final third and has averaged 1.76 passes into the final third is a testament to the player Xavi could be.
- Read more: Tottenham ‘should have expected’ Simons struggles as journalist shares key reason for issues
Joao Palhinha is a problem for Xavi Simons
According to Markstats via X on 1 November, Palhinha generated a 0.03 expected threat against Chelsea.
- He made 1.9 progressive passes
- Palhinha made 0.3 progressive carries
Despite this, he won the ball five times in a game where he made 37 pass attempts and completed 28 of them.
Palhinha is an excellent defensive midfielder, but he can also be a liability in the build-up phase. This is one of the reasons why the Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur partnership has been criticised.
As a result, it is not difficult to see why Simons has been struggling at Tottenham while playing in a conservative attacking system with defensive-minded players.
What changed against for Xavi Simons vs Copenhagen?
Frank opted to bench Palhinha against Copenhagen on Tuesday in favour of a midfield trio of Pape Matar Sarr, Bentancur and Simons.
This was the best choice the Dane could’ve made for the Dutch international.
The more attacking set-up meant that the Lilywhites were able to progress the ball more easily in the midfield, which meant Simons saw more of the ball.
Everything went through Simons. In 61 minutes played, he created three big chances, made one key pass and assisted Brennan Johnson’s first goal in the Champions League.
He also completed 100 per cent of dribbles and had one unsuccessful touch, according to Sofascore.
It was a complete attacking performance from beginning to end, and the onus is on Frank to continue with this tactical formation moving forward.
Indeed, now that he has finally unlocked Simons, the task that lies ahead is consistency.
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