Glenn Hoddle says he was ’surprised’ Ange Postecoglou didn’t start Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from the off during Tottenham Hotspur’s enthralling 3-3 draw at Manchester City on Sunday at the Etihad.
As expected, Tottenham went at it from the get-go, including playing an attacking line-up, with Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski, Bryan Gil and Son Heung-min the attacking players on the pitch.
But with Spurs 2-1 down at half-time and struggling, Ange Postecoglou opted to bring Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg into the picture for Bryan Gil.
Glenn Hoddle wanted that move from the start because he thinks the Denmark international provides that ’solidness’ to the team, as he told Premier League Productions (03/12/23 at 5:30 pm).
Well, it proved to work because Spurs, even though they conceded again in the second half after a mistake from Yves Bissouma.
They were the better team after the break because they had better control, which then led to Tottenham scoring two goals through Giovani Lo Celso and that thunderous stoppage-time header from Dejan Kulusevski.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg against Manchester City
“I said before the game, why didn’t Hojbjerg play in this game?” said Hoddle. “Bissouma had been out with suspension, but I expected this lad to play, anyway.
“Not in a defensive way. But he still uses the ball very well. He has got that bit of defensive mind and solidness in there.”
Will Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg leave Tottenham?
The 28-year-old has a lot of experience under his belt and he has been a reliable performer for Spurs since he joined the club in 2020 from Southampton.
The criticisms that Hojbjerg sometimes faces are that he is too safe and not expansive enough from the middle of the park.
Well, when you analyse the minutes Hojbjerg has been on the pitch for Tottenham this season, he has faired well and probably deserves to start more matches, especially with the number of injuries facing Postecoglou.
And it will be interesting to see if he leaves the club in January because there was talk of the midfielder heading for the exit door in the summer.
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