Pape Matar Sarr has had to patiently wait for his chance to arrive in the Tottenham team in the two months since his eye-catching Champions League display against AC Milan. Handed a rare opportunity with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg suspended for the first leg tie at the San Siro, the Senegal international partnered Oliver Skipp in a rather inexperienced pairing but the duo excelled in the European tie.
Looking set to profit from Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma's injuries with more minutes coming his way after dazzling in the Italian city, Sarr was only handed a grand total of eight across four league appearances before his start against Newcastle United on Sunday. Given Tottenham's struggles on the pitch, many had questioned why he had not featured more under both Antonio Conte and Cristian Stellini.
His opportunity did arrive, though, at the weekend as he was named in a midfield three against Newcastle at St James' Park. A huge opportunity for him to make his case and demonstrate why he should have played more of late, Sarr was only on the pitch for 23 minutes.
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The 20-year-old was, unfortunately the one to be sacrificed with Tottenham trailing 5-0 and looking certain to concede a few more goals. Stellini's decision to operate with a back four completely backfired and it resulted in Davinson Sanchez taking the place of the midfielder at the midway stage of the first half.
Newcastle were given so much time and space to run riot against Tottenham, with Sarr and Co. under intense pressure as the hosts mounted attack after attack and duly put their top-four rivals to the sword. The goals were not good ones to concede at all from a Tottenham perspective, especially the first two of the afternoon.
Sarr should then have done better for the third as he stood off Jacob Murphy as the Newcastle man lined one up from distance, before the player couldn't get across quickly enough as Alexander Isak was given time in the area to arrow the ball into the bottom corner for the fifth. That proved to be Sarr's last involvement as he was hooked two minutes later with Tottenham needing to change formation to ensure that the scoreline didn't increase by another two or three.
When Sarr did exit the field he made his way off at the Gallowgate End of the stadium and that meant he had a long walk around the side of the pitch before he reached the Tottenham dugout. Given the prospect of him being jeered by some home fans as he made his way back, the Senegalese ace was actually warmly applauded by a number of the home faithful as he trudged past the Milburn Stand.
It was a classy touch from the Newcastle fans, although Sarr's mind would have been on other things as he headed to the dugout following his early exit and with his team trailing by five goals. Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, acting head coach Stellini opened up on the substitution and what he had told his player after coming off.
“I said to him, it was not his mistake or his problem," he explained. “We knew that the first 20 minutes here will be difficult for everyone, just don’t concede a goal, after the first shot we conceded the first goal.
“I am the coach and I am above them, I have to protect them and they deserve my protection. Today I have to take this responsibility.”
Facing a further six games before their extremely frustrating 2022/23 campaign draws to a close, it remains to see how many minutes will come Sarr's way before then. That may all depend on who is in charge of the team between now and the end of May, with Stellini's future very much in doubt after the St James' Park debacle.
What Sarr needs right now is for his confidence to be restored, with the same going for the rest of the squad after their dismal run of form came to a head on Tyneside and brought an end to their top-four aspirations. Proving at the turn of the year that he plenty to offer Tottenham in the future, Sarr can feel desperately unlucky not to have featured more since his outstanding performance in the San Siro against AC Milan.
Newcastle was undoubtedly a major low point for the player and now it is now all about how he bounces back.
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