Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou must thank Sergio Reguilon after what the defender did on Saturday
Tottenham took a big step toward qualifying for the UEFA Champions League next season over the weekend, and on-loan defender Sergio Reguilon deserves some credit after the part he played.
Spurs moved fourth in the Premier League with their 3-1 victory over Nottingham Forest at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday (7 April).
After Timo Werner’s 14th-minute cross had been inadvertently deflected home by Forest defender Murillo, Chris Wood levelled the match for the visitors.
Ange Postecoglou responded by shuffling things around in midfield at half-time, replacing Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur.
This worked wonders for the Australian, with Spurs dominating the second half and sealing all three points thanks to goals from defensive duo Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro.
While it was an important win which saw Postecoglou’s side move above Aston Villa into an automatic Champions League qualification spot, that jump up in the league was only possible due to Villa’s result the day before.
On-loan Tottenham ace Serio Reguilon a game-changer for Brentford against Aston Villa
Unai Emery’s side would have expected three points against a Brentford team who were winless in eight ahead of their arrival at Villa Park on Saturday (6 April), and that expectation would’ve only risen when Morgan Rogers put the hosts two up just after half-time.
But a Villa capitulation saw them concede three times before Ollie Watkins netted his second goal of the afternoon to salvage a 3-3 draw, which left Villa on 60 points and opened the door for Spurs to move into the top four on goal difference, while still boasting a game in hand.
And a big reason for that Brentford comeback is none other than on-loan Tottenham left-back Reguilon.
While his long-term future looks likely to lie elsewhere, it appears the Spaniard is doing all he can to help his current employers before a potential summer departure.
Reguilon grabbed two assists in seven second-half minutes to complete the Brentford turnaround, setting up Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa.
He also put in a shift elsewhere in what was perhaps his finest display since moving to the Bees on loan in January.
As per Sofascore, the 27-year-old won 100 per cent of his ground duels and 100 per cent of his aerial duels.
In addition, he made one tackle and blocked one shot, while he also got into some promising positions further up the pitch.
While he only managed a pass completion rate of 64 per cent, Reguilon was efficient with the passes he did complete, with his two key passes leading to two big chances, both of which were converted.
He also had a few attempts himself, firing two shots wide of the target, and while he was inaccurate with his long balls forward, failing to find a teammate with any of his four attempts, his crossing was impressive as he provided two accurate balls into the box from three attempts.
Reguilon’s days in North London look as if they are numbered, but it looks like he has still managed to do Tottenham one last favour, and Postecoglou might perhaps owe the defender a dinner should Spurs pip Villa to the top four come the end of the season.
In other Tottenham news, a Spurs expert has shared a Cristian Romero exit verdict after a £60million transfer reveal.
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