Tottenham’s defence were put to the sword by Arsenal on Sunday evening but it was a Tottenham-owned player in Joe Rodon that showed Spurs what they were missing – with a wonderful Rennes display against Lionel Messi’s PSG.
The combination of Cristian Romero, Eric Dier and Clement Lenglet could not keep Arsenal out. Bukayo Saka’s shot was fumbled into his own net by Hugo Lloris – while Martin Odegaard was given the freedom of the pitch to net a second.
Dier struggled to cope with Eddie Nketiah, and in truth, Arsenal could have scored four or five. It was a rout. Spurs were defensively hopeless – but it was a Spurs player that showed them how it was done. The £11m man was superb.
Coming up against PSG, Rodon was back in the Rennes starting line-up for the first time in the League since October. But he took it in his stride, despite playing against Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe – keeping a clean sheet.
Rodon produced five clearances against PSG, as Rennes held on to a historic 1-0 win. Joint first, with a couple of his teammates – according to WhoScored. He also made two pivotal blocks, denying both Vitinha and then Neymar.
Joe Rodon shows Tottenham what they were missing against PSG
Mbappe started on the bench as Hugo Ekitike started up top alongside Messi, with Neymar playing as a 10. It was a poor display by the French champions, who sit just three points clear of Lens. France’s surprise package of 22-23.
Rennes, meanwhile, have climbed to fifth in Ligue 1 and level on points with Monaco. Wales international Rodon has been in and out of the side – highs and lows, so far. Scoring his first professional goal, but also sent off in September.
But against PSG, he was at his best and arguably produced one of the best displays of his career. A stunning outing that kept three of the world’s best at bay – arguably, the best two in the world in Messi and Mbappe.
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