Troy Deeney picks Guglielmo Vicario in Premier League Team of the Week after his inspired performance for Tottenham vs Chelsea
Tottenham Hotspur’s misery at home continued on Saturday as they lost 1-0 to London foes Chelsea. A first-half strike from Joao Pedro was enough for the Pensioners to claim the derby bragging rights.
It was a terrible display from Thomas Frank’s side, one that was way below the standards they’ve set this season. The home side were on the back foot for much of the game, trying to hit Chelsea in transition. But, the Blues dominated possession for large parts, and when they ceded, Spurs could not do anything with the ball.
Thomas Frank made a questionable team selection, and he was dealt an early blow when Lucas Bergvall was forced to leave the pitch following a concussion. The Dane had to alter his tactics after Xavi Simons replaced Bergvall as a concussion substitute in the sixth minute, but the creative midfielder barely threatened the visitors’ defence.
Tottenham generated a mere 0.10 expected goals (xG), which demonstrates how blunt the hosts were going forward. In reality, the 1-0 scoreline flattered the Lilywhites as they probably should’ve lost the game by a bigger margin, but one man helped them avoid a humiliation in front of the home support.
Troy Deeney picks Guglielmo Vicario in Premier League Team of the Week after his inspired performance for Tottenham vs Chelsea.
Guglielmo Vicario was excellent in Tottenham’s defeat to Chelsea
Guglielmo Vicario was Tottenham’s standout performer vs Chelsea
Guglielmo Vicario has been in impressive form of late, and it continued on Saturday when Spurs hosted Chelsea. The Italian was the main difference between Tottenham losing 1-0 and by a bigger margin.
The Blues attempted 18 shots, nine of which were on target. The Spurs No.1 had to be at his best, and fortunately he was, making a series of impressive stops to keep the scoreline to 1-0. Making his Premier League team of the week for BBC Sport, Troy Deeney decided to include Guglielmo Vicario in goal.
“I know he was on the losing team at home to Chelsea but his Spurs teammates abandoned him. He faced 18 shots, nine shots on target, an xG of 3.36 for Chelsea and he kept them in it. He didn’t quit on his team,” Troy Deeney wrote in his BBC Sport column.
Troy Deeney picks Guglielmo Vicario in Premier League Team of the Week after his inspired performance for Tottenham vs Chelsea.
Tottenham had a day to forget vs Chelsea
Vicario proving his worth at Spurs
When the goalkeeper is the team’s standout performer in a defeat, it speaks volumes about the performance. The same thing happened last weekend, and Vicario was Tottenham’s best player on the pitch against Enzo Maresca’s side.
Following on from his display vs AS Monaco in the Champions League, where he was simply fantastic, the big Italian bailed the north Londoners from an embarrassing scoreline. After an up-and-down form in some games, Vicario seems to be back to his best and that is a great sign for Frank’s white army.