Picture of Tottenham ace Dejan Kulusevski.
Tottenham ace Dejan Kulusevski (Credit: Imago).
Zak Anderton
Mon 9 December 2024 10:40, UK
Dejan Kulusevski proved Ange Postecoglou’s decision to start him over James Maddison for Tottenham against Chelsea right after scoring in the 4-3 defeat.
The Australian named a changed team with the unexpected absence of Maddison arguably being the biggest surprise on 8 December.
Spurs initially went 2-0 up thanks to the Swede and the “embarrassing” performance of Marc Cucurella but threw it all away in the second half defensively.
Brennan Johnson capitalised on a second Cucurella slip before the ball made it to Kulusevski, who left the Chelsea defence in disarray before finishing into the bottom corner.
Speaking live on BBC Radio 5 Live, via the BBC Sport website (8 December, 16:42pm), Clinton Morrison shared his thoughts on the goal.
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“It is brilliant. Cucurella is blaming his boots. Look at yourself, you are the professional player,” he said.
“But from Kulusevski, that is a brilliant finish.”
Tottenham need to start Dejan Kulusevski against Rangers
While it’s evident that room needs to be made in the team for Maddison ahead of their Europa League tie against Rangers on Thursday, Kulusevski shouldn’t be the one to make way.
Brennan Johnson was one of many Spurs players who didn’t put in the best of performances against Chelsea and could easily make way instead of the former Juventus man.
As per Sofascore, in the 79 minutes Kulusevski was on the pitch, he maintained a pass accuracy of 77 per cent and had 32 touches of the ball from his central role.
Attacking-wise, he was a key cog in Postecoglou’s system as he bagged himself a goal and successfully completed 50 per cent of the dribbles he attempted in the clash.
The Sweden international was deployed in midfield, and while his defensive performance wasn’t the strongest, only winning 33 per cent of the 12 ground duels he attempted, he still had a solid game yet again.
Dejan Kulusevski
Tottenham ace Dejan Kulusevski [Credit: Imago]
He also lost possession of the ball 14 times but when you’re in the centre of the park, there’s no way that number will remain low in a high-profile and fiesty affair. The midfielder also made one interception and one tackle while being fouled twice.
Spurs’ next game is against Rangers in the Europa League and if Postecoglou doesn’t start Kulusevski, he could be digging his own grave.
In other Tottenham news, Richard Keys has slammed a decision that Anthony Taylor made in the Spurs v Chelsea game on Sunday.
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