Garth Crooks has praised Chelsea central defender Thiago Silva on BBC Sport for his performance against Nuno’s Tottenham Hotspur in the London derby.
The former Tottenham forward has included Silva in his BBC Premier League Team of the Weekend.
Crooks has said that given that Brazilian defender is 36 years of age, he expected Tottenham to expose him in the Premier League game on Sunday.
The BBC pundit was stunned by how Silva played against Spurs and helped Chelsea to a 3-0 win.
Crooks wrote on BBC Sport: “I half expected Spurs to expose Thiago Silva. He is after all 36. However, after 49 minutes it was Silva who had exposed Spurs.
“The Brazilian defender is renowned for attacking set-pieces in the opposition penalty area but, alas, Tottenham couldn’t have watched the Chelsea video!
“Anyone who has seen Chelsea play will know there are a few dangers in the box on set plays and Silva is one of them. In the end, this was men against boys. This Chelsea side is capable of anything this season.”
Thiago Silva was immense against Tottenham Hotspur
Silva was brilliant for Chelsea during his time on the pitch and showed Spurs how to defend.
The former Paris Saint-Germain star kept Spurs forwards Harry Kane and Son Heung-min at bay and also scored with a brilliant header in the second half.
Silva reads the game well and knows exactly where to be in defence under pressure, and he showed that against Tottenham.
The Chelsea central defender took two shots, played one key pass, had a pass accuracy of 85.5%, won four headers, took 76 touches, and made one tackle, three interceptions and six clearances.
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