Jamie Carragher has criticised Davinson Sanchez whilst suggesting that Tottenham Hotspur face a ‘big drop-off’ when replaces Cristian Romero.
Tottenham hosted Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon and were looking to bounce back after the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United in midweek.
Antonio Conte couldn’t get his side back on track though as they slumped to a 2-1 loss against the Magpies.
Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron fired the Magpies 2-0 up by half time and Harry Kane’s header was nothing but a consolation in the end.
This was another troubling Tottenham display and Conte won’t be happy with many aspects.
Jamie Carragher has criticised Davinson Sanchez
There was a blow before the game even kicked off.
Lineups came out at 3:30pm and Tottenham fans were aghast to see that Cristian Romero wasn’t even in the squad.
The Argentinian defender was ruled out through a muscle injury and was left out completely.
That meant Davinson Sanchez coming back into the team on the right side of Conte’s back three.
Sanchez didn’t exactly have his best game.
The entire Tottenham back line was off their game really and Sanchez really struggled with the ball at his feet.
After giving the ball away to Joelinton and forcing a strong Eric Dier challenge, Sanchez drew criticism from pundit Jamie Carragher.
Speaking on Sky Sports (23/10, 6pm), Carragher suggested that the ‘real big drop-off’ in quality from Romero to Sanchez is absolutely clear when the Colombian comes in.
Carragher added that Sanchez looks bereft of confidence and it really showed against the Magpies.
“It’s a real big drop-off for Tottenham when Romero is out and Sanchez comes in,” said Carragher. “He’s really lacking confidence, he really is,” he added.
Sanchez’s lack of ability on the ball has been noted in years gone by; it didn’t stop Tottenham paying £42million for him though.
Jose Mourinho targeted him when Manchester United faced Ajax in the 2017 Europa League final, effectively making sure that Sanchez was the available man for Ajax to play out.
Mauricio Pochettino used Sanchez in the middle of his back three and gave more distributing responsibility to Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen either side of him.
Sanchez just cannot play as a right-sided centre back in a three like Romero.
Tottenham may be able to get away with him playing in the middle but if they want to progress up the pitch, they will need a better right-sided centre back to cover for Romero.
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