Tottenham Hotspur went into last night’s North London derby with a chance to put the final nail in a deflated Arsenal’s Premier League title ambitions but gave them a much-needed boost instead.
Ange Postecoglou’s side managed to withstand an early barrage and actually took the lead 25 minutes in, but just 19 minutes after that, they found themselves 2-1 down.
The second half saw the Lilywhites push for an equaliser, but they looked just as likely to concede a third, and the defeat means they have picked up just five points from the last 27 available.
53%
Possession
47%
1.42
Expected Goals
0.83
4
Big Chances
1
14
Total Shots
10
1
Saves
3
10
Corners
4
16
Fouls
9
425
Passes
373
Now, there were some starters who put in a real shift for Ange Postecoglou and the fans, like Lucas Bergvall, Son Heung-min and Djed Spence, but there were more than a few players who let the side down, including Antonín Kinský.
Kinský's performance vs Arsenal
Kinský made his debut for Spurs in the League Cup against Liverpool last week and looked utterly brilliant, both with the ball at his feet and stopping shots, and then looked reasonably assured against Tamworth in the FA Cup over the weekend.
However, last night was another level of pressure, and while we cannot write him off based on one game, it would be fair to say that he did not cope with it.
There were countless times in which he took too long on the ball – which almost resulted in Kai Havertz scoring in the first 20 minutes – played the wrong pass to one of his teammates or took a bad touch and put the backline under unnecessary pressure, which is what you don’t want in a heated derby.
Then, to top it all off, he failed to stop Leandro Trossard from scoring the winner despite being positioned well to do so, which ultimately cost his side the match.
This might all sound rather harsh, but it’s an opinion shared by respected Spurs’ writer Alasdair Gold, who gave the Czech ace a 5/10 match rating at full-time, writing that he’d be ‘disappointed’ with the Belgian’s goal.
However, while the young shot-stopper had a night to forget, Pedro Porro was even worse.
Porro's performance vs Arsenal
Although he is vastly more experienced than Kinský, Porro was arguably even worse against Arsenal.
The former Sporting CP star was utterly ineffective in defence, as he was seemingly constantly out of position, so much so that Ally McCoist had to ask “Where’s Pedro Porro” on commentary, and then in one of the more striking moments of the game, he was sent tumbling to the floor by Trossard.
It truly was the “nightmare” display Spurs content creator Seb Martin said it was, and unfortunately for Postecoglou, the Spanish full-back was just as anonymous at the other end of the pitch, failing to play any dangerous passes or make any probing run to try and disrupt the immovable Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Again, it might all sound rather harsh, but Gold had a similar opinion on the night, awarding the 25-year-old just a 4/10 and writing that he was ‘caught up the pitch for the second goal’ and ‘didn’t offer much else before hitting the outside of the post in the 94th minute.’
His statistics more than back up this appraisal, as in 95 minutes of football, the Don Bentio-born star produced a combined expected goal and assists figure of just 0.09, was dribbled past once, lost three of five duels, lost the ball 15 times, committed two fouls, had a passing accuracy of just 78%, misplaced five of six crosses and four of seven long balls.
Minutes
95′
Expected Goals
0.04
Expected Assists
0.05
Dribbled Past
1
Duels (Won)
5 (2)
Lost Possession
15
Fouls
2
Passing Accuracy
29/37 (78%)
Crosses (Accurate)
6 (1)
Long Balls (Accurate)
7 (3)
Ultimately, it was a night to forget for much of the Spurs team, but both Kinský and Porro were worryingly poor.
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