Tottenham Hotspur striker was ineffective in win over Brighton.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino played straight into Brighton’s hands with his selection of Fernando Llorente up front.
Brighton’s centre-back pairing of Shane Duffy and in particular Lewis Dunk thrived on aerial balls played in towards the Spaniard and were able to cut off the supply to the Tottenham striker.
Llorente could manage only 23 touches in 90 minutes of the home clash, which was decided by a long range winner from Christian Eriksen.
Veteran forward Llorente was the hero against Manchester City a week ago, and he has contributed to Tottenham’s season in a way few expected him to.
Last night was not one of his better efforts, and he made Spurs far too predictable.
He did not manage any shots at all, and he won only two aerial duels in comparison to Dunk’s eight.
Tottenham thrived against Huddersfield with Lucas Moura leading the line, playing the ball into his feet and giving him spaces to run into.
Lucas started out wide against a better drilled Brighton side, and injury issues are limiting Tottenham’s flexibility in terms of team selection.
Even despite this, Tottenham need to find a better way of utilising Llorente and the layers around him, if they are to persist with starting him.
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