It was a night to forget for Tottenham Hotspur as they sacrificed a 2-1 lead with 10 minutes to go to lose 3-2 to Southampton in the Premier League on Wednesday night.
Spurs were on course to move up to 6th and close the gap on the top four to just one point ahead of this weekend, but it was not to be for Antonio Conte ’s men.
Newly signed Juventus pair Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski once again featured off the bench, as Spurs fans got to see a bit more of them in action following their cameos against Brighton on Saturday.
Bentancur came on 10 minutes before Heung-Min Son put his side 2-1 ahead in the 60th minute, while Kulusevski featured six minutes later, but former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood has blamed the pair for the defeat.
Talking to Premier League Productions, Sherwood didn’t hold back by saying that ‘as soon as they came on, Tottenham lost’, as Spurs capitulated in the final 10 minutes to walk away with nothing.
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He said: “In the end, the best team beat the best players. Southampton were quality. They knew, in possession and out-of-possession.
“They had a game plan. I thought their game plan was a lot better than Tottenham’s. You look at the attempts. 23 attempts to Tottenham’s eight? I thought they deserved the game.
“It’s not about holding on. Antonio needs to get better control of the football match. Then you don’t have to hold on. You can’t just rely on holding on and gamesmanship just to preserve your three points.
“I think he has done a brilliant job since he has been in there. He is still learning about the players. He brings on Kulusevski and Bentancur. And they change the game, as soon as they come on, Tottenham lost.”
It may certainly be a harsh analysis from Sherwood and many Spurs fans would disagree given that the pair seemed eager to drive forward and find a way through the opposition.
But the substitutions may have altered the fluidity of the game for Spurs and disrupted some momentum.
However, it’s important to note that Sherwood was also quick to highlight how Conte should have controlled the game better and it was ultimately his decision to bring the pair on.
Bentancur could perhaps be let off the hook given that Spurs went 2-1 ahead just 10 minutes after he came on.
Unfortunately for Kulusevski, Spurs lost the game in the 14 minutes following his introduction, although he didn’t exactly do a lot wrong.
But given that he is a winger, there’s not a great deal he could have done about the two goals, so Sherwood’s outburst can certainly be overlooked to an extent.
Nonetheless, Spurs must aim to bounce back quickly when they host Wolves on Sunday, and going three games without a win has to be avoided if they are to keep their top four chances alive.
