‘On the front foot’: Sky pundit hails defensive Tottenham star ‘running show’ in UCL

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Stephen Kelly hailed Rodrigo Bentancur for his performance during Tottenham’s 3-2 win over Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

The former Republic of Ireland international shared how Bentancur was ‘running’ proceedings in midfield and was always trying to get on the ‘front foot’ for his side.

After playing a three-man midfield against Brighton and Hove Albion last Saturday, Antonio Conte reverted back to having just Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the middle of the park against the German side.

The home side did concede early on following a mistake from Eric Dier, but they continued to attack their opponents, with Heung-min Son and Harry Kane both getting on the scoresheet before the half-time break could arrive. 

That included Hojbjerg’s brilliant pin-point cross that was volleyed in from Son for his second goal of the game.

Whilst Tottenham’s attacking duo got praise for their performances, ex-Spurs man Kelly was sure to big up Bentancur and how he was trying to push his team forward from midfield, as he told Sky Sports News. 

“Bentancur is (running the show it in the middle of the park),” said Kelly. “Even when Tottenham weren’t doing well, he was on the front foot and trying to press really high up.

“Flying into his tackle and got himself a booking. He is always consistently trying to get the ball off the backline, trying to link it and drive the team forward.”

BENTANCUR IS AN UNDERRATED FIGURE

Just like Dejan Kulusevski, some did question Bentancur’s transfer from Juventus during the January transfer window.

But just like the Sweden star, Bentancur shut up his critics and put up a number of fine performances to help Spurs beat their London rivals Arsenal to Champions League football last season.

Whilst someone like Kulusevski gets the headlines because he is an attacker, someone like Bentancur has gone under the radar for the composure and style he has brought to the midfield. 

Even with the arrival of summer signing Yves Bissouma, the Mali international hasn’t been able to break into the starting XI because of the strong performances from Bentancur and Hojbjerg.