Richarlison has had to be very patient indeed for his opportunity in the Tottenham starting XI to come his way. Last starting a game for the Lilywhites in the thrilling 4-3 win over Leeds United back in November, the Brazilian finally got the nod from the off in Sunday's 2-0 victory against West Ham.
Injury has not helped his cause since the West Yorkshire club visited Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, notably missing four games following the resumption of domestic football in December and also having to make do with minutes off the bench since returning from the hamstring issue he sustained at the World Cup. Only a matter of time before he was brought back into the side with others struggling, his inclusion came at the expense of Son Heung-min after the South Korean's recent woes in front of goal.
A huge game for the player as he looked to make his case to Antonio Conte and Cristian Stellini following such a frustrating start to life in north London, the ex-Watford man, as he always does, put himself about and tried to make life incredibly difficult for the visitors in such an important encounter for both. Involved early on with his pass striking Thilo Kehrer's hand only for the referee and VAR not to give it, it was just before the break when he brought Lukasz Fabianski into life.
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Getting on the end of a searching long ball from Harry Kane, the 25-year-old forced the goalkeeper into a save at his near post from an extremely tight angle. On that occasion Richarlison made something out of nothing, but he should have done so much better with his chance on goal seconds after the restart.
Following some good play from Dejan Kulusevski and Kane, the former elected to square the ball to Tottenham's No.9 rather than shooting himself and it unfortunately culminated in a tame effort that was no trouble at all for the West Ham shot-stopper. With minutes and goals so few and far between for the former Everton man, it was an opportunity he really needed to do much better with as he looks to become a regular in the Tottenham team.
Always going to be a tough ask for him to play the full 90 minutes with 20 minutes the longest he has been on the pitch since making his return, Richarlison made way for Son at the halfway stage of the second half. Four minutes later and Spurs had doubled their lead as the South Korean added a second following Emerson Royal's opener 11 minutes after the break.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Stellini indicated that Tottenham's plan was for Richarlison to make life difficult for the West Ham backline and stretch them, thus playing into Son's hands when he finally entered the fray.
"We know that Sonny's response would be perfect because Sonny is a perfect guy," said the Italian. "But after the World Cup, sometimes it happen that the player are not fit 100 per cent. In that moment you have to take a decision and it is difficult with a player like Sonny to drop them, but you have to do it because we have a lot of matches.
"The risk is you lose a player for a long time and we don't want to do it. We want to use Sonny in the right way. Now we had Richarlison back 100 per cent fit and we pick the team to play this type of game. The plan was clear. We had to fight in the first half and when they stretch the team and we have more space, we can use players like Sonny and players to attack the space."
On a day when he needed to wow, things just didn't fall Richarlison's way. Amid questions over Kulusevski and Son's form with the duo quite clearly low on confidence and struggling in the final third heading into the match, the former looked totally transformed in the second half and was heavily involved in their best play, while the latter silenced his critics with a well-taken goal after Kane had slipped him in.
Aside from the hard work that Richarlison always brings to the team, Spurs, and the player for that matter, very much need end product in the final third right now. That has not been the case in his Tottenham career so far after failing to net since his match-winning double against Marseille in the Champions League in early September.
Glimpses of his top form has been there on occasions but certainly nowhere near enough to justify his £60million price tag. Richarlison at the peak of his powers will only come with regular game time, however, as it really is a tall order for him to come into the side and produce instantly in attack when injury and a lack of minutes has impacted him massively.
The summer addition should not be judged on this one game but what makes life incredibly difficult for him now is that Kulusevski has received a much-needed confidence boost and Son sealed the win with his ninth goal of the season. Facing a big game next Sunday when London rivals Chelsea visit N17, Richarlison may well find himself back on the bench after the aforementioned duo seized their opportunities and he had little impact going forward.
Chances will of course be there for him prior to the first international break of 2023 but it's regular starts that will only see him recapture his best form rather than a handful of minutes here and there off the bench. Whatever comes his way over the next few months, Tottenham need to see so much more from their £60m man at such a vital time in the campaign.
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