Tim Sherwood says Dejan Kulusevski ‘did more in five minutes’ than Richarlison did in an hour following Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday.
Ryan Mason opted to start Richarlison for the trip to Villa Park, but after the first 45 minutes, Spurs didn’t even have a shot on goal or a touch in the opposition’s box.
It was only when Yves Bissouma and Dejan Kulusevski come off the bench that Tottenham started to have some sort of life in the game.
But, even then, the 2-1 scoreline flattered the north London club, who were probably lucky that it was only 1-0 to Villa going into the break.
There weren’t many positives to take for Spurs, as Villa are now breathing down their necks in the race for Europe, with two games remaining.
It will be interesting to see if Richarlison, who has only scored one Premier League this season, starts next weekend’s clash against Brentford because, going by the Villa showing, he should be straight back on the bench because Sherwood certainly wasn’t impressed by him, as he told Sky Sports News.
“Kulusevski times his run perfectly, he gets down the inside right position, he cuts back on his left foot and it goes wide,” said Sherwood.
“He has done more in five minutes than Richarlison, who has come off, has done in an hour.”
KULUSEVSKI AND DANJUMA
It has to be questioned how someone like Son Heung-min, when he isn’t proving to be effective, continues to play 90+ minutes for his team.
It’s high time Mason starts Kulusevski and loan signing Arnaut Danjuma against Brentford, or else, what was the point of bringing the latter in during the January transfer window?
What the duo bring that would help Spurs is that they are more creative players than Son and Richarlison are proving to be, if they can sing, then it can allow Tottenham’s midfield and backline to play in a lot more simple fashion.
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