Tottenham Hotspur have impressed with their fine performances so far this season.
Stan Collymore
Writing his column for the Mirror, former Liverpool and Aston Villa star Stan Collymore questioned Tottenham players Erik Lamela and Heung-min Son after they argued over who should take their penalty during their 2-0 win over Manchester City at the weekend, as quoted by the Evening Standard.
Lamela ended up taking the penalty, and went on to miss, but the dispute was quickly forgotten after Spurs took all three points. The matter could have come under more intense scrutiny, however, had Tottenham failed to win the game.
Tottenham’s Erik Lamela has his penalty saved by Manchester City’s Claudio Bravo
Collymore discussed how there is no excuse for what happened, and questioned whether Mauricio Pochettino actually named his preferred penalty taker before the game, as quoted by the Evening Standard:
“Players squabbling over penalties is one of the most embarrassing things in football. Tottenham’s Erik Lamela and Heung-min Son were guilty of that against Manchester City. Usually, when the regular penalty taker is out, a manager will ask, ‘Who’s on penalties?’ and someone will say, ‘Me’. It doesn’t look like that question was asked and I do wonder whether foreign managers grasp that particular tradition of football on these shores.”
Tottenham’s Son Heung-min
Harry Kane is Tottenham’s regular penalty taker, but in his absence – especially after what happened on Sunday, Pochettino would be wise to nominate a regular deputy, until his star striker returns to the side.
Next up for the North London outfit is a trip to West Browich Albion in the Premier League next weekend, followed by their crucial Champions League encounter against Bayer Leverkusen, where they must avoid defeat to have a realistic chance of progression through to the knock-out stages of the competition.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino
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