Tottenham came away from Germany with a goalless draw to remain in the top two in their group.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino
With Kyle Walker shining for Tottenham this season, Kieran Trippier would have known that he simply had to impress when selected for their Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen to send a message to Mauricio Pochettino.
And while the goalless draw may have left Pochettino slightly disappointed, there is little chance that he would have been disappointed with Trippier’s display.
Tottenham’s Kieran Trippier in action
The right-back – who is still awaiting his first appearance in the Premier League this season – did an excellent job in Germany according to the statistics.
| Accurate crosses | Tackles won | Total clearances | Duels won | Interceptions won | Accurate passes | Mins Played | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kieran Trippier | 2 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 43 | 90 |
Tottenham only managed to put in three accurate crosses all evening in the BayArena, and two of them came from Trippier. Christian Eriksen was the man who contributed the other.
Kyle Walker has been in sensational form this term
Defensively, it appears that Trippier definitely filled the void that Walker’s absence left. Only Danny Rose won as many challenges as the three that the 26-year-old won, and Rose was the only man who won more duels.
Meanwhile, Trippier made more clearances than any other Spurs player, and none of his teammates made more interceptions – Jan Vertonghen and Victor Wanyama also made three – than the full-back did.
His performance will certainly give Pochettino plenty of confidence about rotating his options. The strategy worked brilliantly for Tottenham last season, and Trippier’s display surely confirmed that he is more than capable of taking some of the burden off Walker’s shoulders, whatever competition they are playing in.
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