The absence of Son Heung-min (33) was not fruitful. Matthis Tel (20, Tottenham Hotspur) once again left only disappointment.
Tottenham lost 0-1 to Manchester City in a home game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, on the 27th (Korean time) during the 27th round of the 2024-2025 English Premier League (PL).
Tottenham's four-match league winning streak was shattered. Tottenham remains at 36 points (10 wins, 3 draws, 14 losses) in 13th place. Manchester City secured 47 points (14 wins, 5 draws, 8 losses) in 4th place.
Tottenham, under head coach Ange Postecoglou, lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Tel, Wilfried Gnonto, James Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Lucas Moura, Rodrigo Bentancur, Destiny Udogie, Kevin Danzo, Archie Gray, Pedro Porro, and Guglielmo Vicario started.
Manchester City, led by head coach Pep Guardiola, also fielded a 4-2-3-1 formation. Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, Omar Marmoush, Sabinyu, Mateo Kovacic, Nico Gonzalez, Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, Abdulkadir Husanov, Mateo Nunes, and Ederson comprised the starting lineup.
This was a surprising lineup from coach Postecoglou. Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski, who have previously shown strength against Manchester City, alongside the recently outstanding Jed Spence, were all benched. Instead, Tel and Gnonto were given the opportunity.
This ultimately became a bad move. Tottenham struggled to control Manchester City's attacks from the start. After conceding the opening goal to Haaland in the 12th minute of the first half, they constantly faced scoring threats. If not for Vicario's saves and the inaccurate finishing from Manchester City's attackers, it would not have been surprising to concede several more goals in the first half.
Desperate, coach Postecoglou used all four of his substitutions in the 67th minute. He brought off Tel, Gnonto, Bentancur, and Udogie, replacing them with Son Heung-min, Kulusevski, Spence, and Pape Sarr. This was effectively an acknowledgment of a failed tactical strategy.
However, there was no turnaround. Tottenham failed to score an equalizer in the remaining time and fell to the defeat. They showed better performance than Manchester City in the second half but did not reap any rewards. In fact, Haaland shook the net again in stoppage time, but the goal was canceled due to a handball infraction confirmed by video assistant referee (VAR).
For Tottenham, the underperformance of Tel, who was in charge of the front line, was disappointing. According to the football statistics outlet 'Footmob', he recorded only 1 shot, 4 successful passes (4/5), 0 chances created, 0 successful dribbles (0/2), and 1 successful duel (1/6) in just 66 minutes. His rating was the lowest at 5.7.
Tel joined Tottenham during the winter transfer window. Tottenham put all efforts into signing him, even with Chairman Daniel Levy personally involved. Ultimately, they failed to secure a permanent transfer but successfully signed him on loan after intense competition. The loan fee Tottenham paid to Bayern Munich was up to 10 million euros (approximately 15 billion won).
Tel is expected to be a long-term replacement for Son Heung-min. Like Son, he primarily plays on the left wing but also has the speed to take on the central striker role. He shares similar excellence in shooting with both feet. Tottenham has included a condition to fully sign him for 60 million euros (approximately 908 billion won) if they get Tel's agreement.
However, Tel has not been able to demonstrate his abilities on the pitch. As a result, criticism is growing in the UK. Coach Postecoglou countered before the Manchester City match, saying, "You shouldn't judge him based on just four games," and added, "Tel is lacking match experience. He needs to improve his physical condition," but nothing changed in this match.
The UK outlet '90MIN' also urged Tel to perform better. The outlet stated, "Tel is still trying to adapt. It was not a promising night for him," and noted, "Haaland's number of touches is capturing everyone's attention. However, the minimal interactions Tel displayed could have embarrassed even the minimally involved Haaland."
In fact, Tel recorded only 12 ball touches and 5 pass attempts during the match against Manchester City. 90MIN pointed out, "Tottenham's winter transfer coup Tel managed just one shot in 6 minutes. He also completed only 5 pass attempts to end the match. Manchester City is a team that defensively lacks resilience. Nonetheless, Tel was not a threat and was barely noticeable at all."
The outlet also added, "Tel is in a team that has been plummeting until recently, and it should not be forgotten that he is a teenager bravely spending his first month abroad. However, going forward, he must aim for over 12 ball touches."
'The Standard' also stated, "Tel struggled once again," commenting, "Today was undoubtedly a tough evening for Tel. His sustaining play was insufficient, and he did not receive crosses or long passes from deep positions," indicating that he needs to improve.
[Photo] ⓒGettyimages (No unauthorized reproduction or redistribution)
[OSEN = Reporter Koh Seong-hwan]