Tottenham Hotspur somehow managed to snatch a draw from the jaws of victory on Sunday afternoon, having been 3-0 up against West Ham United.
It was all going so well; Son Heung-min fired Spurs in front in the first minute, and Harry Kane bagged a brace in a stunning first-half display from Tottenham.
Even with 15 minutes left to play, Spurs were under no real threat, but contrived to throw away two points as Fabian Balbuena, a Davinson Sanchez own goal and a long-range Manuel Lanzini stunner rescued a point for West Ham.
From 3-0 up to a 3-3 draw, Tottenham endured a shocking capitulation, and some fans have been left hugely frustrated by Sanchez’s performance – even aside from his own goal.
The Colombian does show periods of quality; the dominance that fans saw when he first arrived from Ajax in 2017, whilst showing great recovery pace to help Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld.
However, Sanchez’s play is littered with inconsistency and moments where he appears to lose concentration or do something clumsy; it was an own goal on Sunday, it was a rash challenge to give away a penalty against Manchester United two weeks earlier.
Back in 2017, Jose Mourinho told Tribuna Expresso that he felt Sanchez was Ajax’s weak link in the Europa League final, targeting him as United claimed the trophy, long before Mourinho ended up working with Sanchez.
He has still utilised Sanchez heavily at Spurs, but Sunday’s latest error – his second in as many games – may leave him sweating for his place in the side, and comes at the worst possible time.
On Friday, Tottenham confirmed the signing of Swansea City defender Joe Rodon, meaning Sanchez now faces new competition for his starting role in the Spurs back four.
Alderweireld has regressed slightly, Eric Dier still has his own struggles at centre back and Japhet Tanganga is still a relative rookie, so Rodon certainly has a chance to establish himself in the Tottenham side quickly despite his lack of Premier League experience.
Having started Sunday’s game with West Ham clumsily and ended it with an own goal, Sanchez may now need to look over his shoulder, with Rodon now brought in as real competition for the £42million ace – and he will need to bounce back quickly to fend off his new competition.
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