Tottenham may have secured a 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday evening but Antonio Conte will no doubt believe that their winning margin should have been by more. Collecting all three points courtesy of Cristian Romero's first goal for the club and Harry Kane's tidy finish, Spurs had plenty of chances throughout to extend the scoreline.
Missing a huge opportunity early on through Kane as he failed to find the open net after winning the ball off Seagulls shot-stopper Robert Sanchez, Dejan Kulusevski then forced the Spaniard into a save just before the half-time whistle. Chances kept on coming for Spurs after the break, notably through Sergio Reguilon.
Named in the starting XI for the second successive game due to Ryan Sessegnon's absence through injury, the Spain international had a mixed night at the Amex Stadium. Having a few sloppy moments at times, Reguilon did get forward well as he looked to help Tottenham out in the final third.
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However, what's letting him down time and time again is his final bit of play, whether that's a cross or pass to pick out a teammate, or his finishing. The player's movement is quite clearly there as he does get himself into some very good positions but more often than not he lets himself down with his final action.
Trying to perfect his craft in the wing-back role having not played in the position a lot in the past, Reguilon finds himself behind Sessegnon, as the England U21 international is perhaps the player better suited to operating as a wing-back due to his attacking qualities.
The ex-Fulham man was starting to get a good run in the team prior to the hamstring injury he picked up against Everton and Conte's comments did seem to indicate that Reguilon had plenty to do if he was to win back his position.
“He had Covid, I think he had a bit of a problem to recover from this. But Sergio knows very well he has to fight to play, because also there is at this moment Sessegnon, that is playing regularly, he is having good performances," said Conte on Reguilon at the start of the month.
“We have four wing-backs, with Doherty and Emerson, and also during the game, sometimes if I want to try to push the game, I can put in this position also Kulusevski.”
Making an impact in the recent victory over Everton with a goal seconds after his half-time introduction, Reguilon should have added to his tally of two for the season at Brighton. Set free down the left following a perfectly sprayed ball by Kane, the former Real Madrid man pushed into the area but saw his low effort saved by fellow countryman Sanchez.
He again found himself in a similar position in the final few minutes of the contest but again couldn't convert past the Brighton man. Reguilon is getting himself into some great positions but it's his final piece of play that is unfortunately letting him down.
Game time is going to come the player's way over the coming weeks while Sessegnon recovers from his latest hamstring setback and it's imperative he takes his chance with both hands. His rival is in the driving seat for the position as things stand but an awful lot can change in such a short space of time in football.
If Reguilon can indeed improve on his final ball then he is going to give Conte a selection headache once he has both his players available for action. It is now down to the player to do exactly that if he wants to regain his place in the Tottenham team on a permanent basis.
