Tottenham Hotspur succumbed to yet another Premier League defeat in Sunday’s game at Crystal Palace.
Spurs went into the London derby in good form with back-to-back victories in all competitions, and they had the perfect opportunity to inflict more pain on the Eagles, who were languishing in the 18th spot after eight games into the league season.
However, their start to the game was unconvincing and a huge defensive error from Micky van de Ven contributed to Jean-Philippe Mateta opening the scoring for Palace in the 31st minute. The goal was enough to seal Palace’s first win of the top-flight campaign.
Van de Ven had a dreadful outing at Selhurst Park, but Dejan Kulusevski was similarly frustrating as he struggled to impose himself from a midfield role. The Swede missed 1 big chance in front of goal in his 62-minute appearance yesterday.
He had just 16 accurate passes in the London derby with only 2 duels won from 9 contested. The 24-year-old committed 4 fouls in the game and he was unsurprisingly substituted after the hour mark for his underwhelming performance.
Time to drop him
Kulusevski has had his good moments with Spurs this season, but the tactic of playing him in midfield to compensate for Brennan Johnson on the right wing has not worked out.
The former Juventus man does not provide the necessary control compared to Pape Matar Sarr for example. The Senegalese star has been knocking on the door for a regular starting role.
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou likes to play on the front foot with an attacking mindset, but this has not proved worthwhile with the London side losing almost every other game.
This needs to change soon rather than later and it could be time to drop Kulusevski. He is a right-sided player and can’t operate on the left wing where Spurs have lacked quality in Heung min-Son’s absence.
Spurs have a huge game against Manchester City in the 4th round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening. The competition could be Spurs’ best chance to end their 16-year trophy drought.
