What an awful evening it was for Tottenham Hotspur today.
Tottenham welcomed Southampton to North London in what should’ve represented another three points toward their attempts to qualify for the Champions League come May.
However, the visitors had entirely different intentions tonight.
Southampton registered a 3-2 victory away to Spurs on a night that didn’t throw up many positives for the hosts.
There was quite a few shoddy defensive displays individually and honestly, Antonio Conte’s outfit were fortunate to only concede the three goals.
But one massive positive came in the form of Rodrigo Bentancur’s display.
The former Juventus midfielder joined Tottenham on transfer deadline day and even with the defeat here, Bentancur’s silk might live long in the memory of some Spurs supporters.
He replaced Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg on the hour mark and had an instant impact on the hosts’ midfield, with some raking cross-field passes the highlight.
Here’s how Jonathan Woodgate reacted to one moment of brilliance from the Uruguayan.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “The ball to Lucas Moura from Rodrigo Bentancur was absolutely out of this world. This kid has got real pedigree – he is a proper talent.”
Bentancur certainly enhanced his reputation but, really, it was an awful performance by Tottenham overall.
If your new signing, on his Premier League debut, is your team’s best player despite coming on with half-an-hour to go then, honestly, that’s an issue.
The North Londoners still have three games in hand over fourth-placed West Ham, who are only four points clear.
Qualifying for the Champions League remains in Spurs’ hand but, on this evidence, they need to improve massively.
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