Tottenham ace Pedro Porro proved he is the real deal as Jeremy Doku struggles highlighted in Manchester City thriller
Very few people gave Tottenham any chance against Manchester City, with Jeremy Doku one of the players who was expected to cause Ange Postecoglou’s side the most problems.
Doku has been in sensational form since he arrived in the Premier League, terrifying full-backs with his frightening dribbling ability, and with Postecoglou determined to play his usual attacking style at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday (3 December), many expected the Belgian winger to cause problems once again.
His blistering pace and ability on the ball seemed the perfect match for a makeshift defence playing a high line away from home, but in the end, the 21-year-old struggled to make the impact he or Pep Guardiola would have liked.
The reason for his struggles? Tottenham right-back Pedro Porro.
Playing against his former side, Porro would have felt that he had a point to prove, and he did just that and then some, with this performance arguably his most impressive in a Spurs shirt to date, when taking the circumstances into account.
The Spaniard initially struggled to adapt upon his arrival from Sporting Lisbon in January, but has turned his fortunes around under Postecoglou and is quickly blossoming into one of the league’s best right-backs, improving with every performance.
This visit to Manchester City was perhaps his greatest challenge to date, and the 24-year-old passed with flying colours, demonstrating to everyone that he is much more than an attacking wing-back and that he can defend when he needs to.
Speaking ahead of the match, Porro told the Daily Star (2 December): “Clearly, I’m not going to have an afternoon off – but neither is he! That’s what’s beautiful about it.
“When you come up against a top player, it makes you improve and become a better player. It will be an entertaining spectacle.” It is fair to say, Porro was not wrong.
While the game as a whole was definitely an entertaining spectacle, with Spurs scoring early and late on in the six-goal thriller, Porro’s performance was also entertaining, at least for those in the away end.
As per Sofascore, although his contributions going forward were limited by the nature of the game, he did still manage to complete 78 per cent of his passes, with one of those being key, and provide two accurate crosses into the box as well as two successful long balls forward.
However, it was his defensive work that caught the eye. Porro won four of his seven ground duels, made two tackles, blocked two shots and made one clearance, all while playing against one of the most feared wingers in the league.
But Porro showed no fear, and he managed to limit Doku to just one successful dribble, which is the joint-fewest the forward has completed in a Premier League start so far for Manchester City.
While he did hit the woodwork with an impressive strike from the edge of the box, that was more or less where Doku’s contributions started and ended, as he was hooked off in the 52nd minute having appeared to pick up a knock on what proved to be a frustrating afternoon for both himself and his team.
For Porro, it was quite the opposite, it was an afternoon that further reinforced his credentials after a strong few weeks on a personal level for the former City man, and it will certainly do his confidence the world of good heading into the busy festive period.
In other Tottenham news, one Spurs expert has mooted a “star” transfer to be done on 1 January in a much-needed position.