Paul Merson was left stunned by Ivan Perisic’s match-saving block during Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-1 win over Marseille in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
With less than ten minutes left on the clock, Marseille were searching for that all-important winner to send them through to the knockout stages of the Champions League and send Spurs to the Europa League.
The game became an end-to-end affair when former Arsenal man Alexis Sanchez, on the break, saw his shot from point-blank range blocked by the diving Perisic.
It was a moment of brilliance from the 33-year-old and another example of why Antonio Conte brought the player to north London in the summer.
Whilst many will be talking about Sead Kolasinac missing a guilt-edge chance at the far post, which should have won the game for the Ligue 1 side, that block from Perisic shouldn’t be forgotten about.
Not long after, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was down the other end and channelling his inner Harry Kane by rifling the ball into the back of the net for Tottenham’s winner and passage into the next round.
Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson made it clear that, if Perisic had not done his defensive duties, then it would have been a certain goal for Sanchez, as he told Sky Sports News (01/10/22 at 9:45 pm).
“What a block,” said Merson. “I think it’s blocked by Perisic. What a block. Up the other end, I thought Harry Kane was going to score.
“But what an absolute bloke this is from Perisic. He gets back as well. He lost the ball and then he gets behind. I am just looking at it again, oh yeah, it would have been a goal.”
OLD BUT GOLD
Perisic is heading towards the back end of his career, but the Croatian star is still proving his worth.
He has assisted in his last three Tottenham matches, all crucial goals, including Clement Lenglet’s equaliser yesterday.
Throughout Conte’s managerial career, he has always liked to work with that extra bit of experience and Perisic is showing exactly why this season because he is one of the first names on the team sheet.
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