Tottenham Hotspur were hammered 3-0 at Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon, with Jermaine Jenas a little disappointed with Oliver Skipp.
Tottenham went into the game with three wins from three in the Premier League this season.
That 100% record ended on Saturday, as Palace swept Tottenham aside in the second half.
Japhet Tanganga’s red card left Tottenham in a hole. Wilfried Zaha scored from the spot to make it 1-0, before Odsonne Edouard come off the bench to bag a brace.
Skipp struggles in Tottenham diamond
Tottenham just couldn’t get back into the game. They offered little creativity throughout and managed just two shots in 90 minutes.
Nuno was hampered by injuries to Son Heung-min and Steven Bergwijn. That forced him to play a midfield diamond – but it didn’t really work.
Skipp joined Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Harry Winks in the Tottenham midfield. They worked behind Dele Alli, but just weren’t moving the ball quickly enough.
Skipp looked little off his game and was unable to give Tottenham impetus in the middle. That’s maybe understandable; Skipp suffered a groin injury with England during the international break.
Skipp’s performance was highlighted by pundit Jermaine Jenas, a former Tottenham midfielder himself.
Jenas told BT Sport (45min) that he felt Skipp didn’t look fit in Tottenham’s midfield.
Jenas felt that Skipp was missing the ‘bite’ to his game, and Tottenham were ultimately paying the price.
“Oliver Skipp, to me, doesn’t look fit in that midfield area,” said Jenas. “He hasn’t got that bite to his game that he has usually got, at the minute,” he added.
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