Crucial touch: Luke Shaw turned the ball into his own net
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Rio Ferdinand was left frustrated by Patrick Dorgu’s role in Tottenham’s opening goal against Manchester United.
It was a largely low-quality opening 45 minutes of the Europa League final in Bilbao, with both sides nervous and making plenty of mistakes on the ball.
Spurs, though, took the lead three minutes before half-time, as they landed the first blow in the bid to secure a European trophy and with it Champions League qualification.
Pape Matar Sarr whipped in a cross from the left wing and Brennan Johnson got across Luke Shaw.
The Spurs winger did not get a decisive touch but he did enough for the ball to bounce up onto Shaw’s arm and bobble into the corner of the net, with a scrambling Andre Onana unable to get across in time.
The goal initially went down as Johnson’s but replays showed the final touch came off Shaw. It was Dorgu’s role, though, that Ferdinand felt was to blame from a defensive point of view.
“Dorgu, at no point does he talk to Luke Shaw,” Ferdinand told TNT Sports.
“You always need that help. Maybe it’s inexperience, a more experienced full-back.. he doesn’t let him know. By the time he realises and sees the white shirt flash across him, it’s too late and the ball ends up in the back of the net.
“I always say that the defender furthest away is your talker, your eyes and ears. He has to signal to all the other players, shout, scream, push, whatever.
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“Let them know players are running across them. He didn’t do that and they got punished.”