Tottenham’s team selection at the Nou Camp was brave.
Tottenham Hotspur earned a vital draw against Barcelona at the Nou Camp to book a place in the Champions League last 16.
How they did it was even more impressive.
Tottenham had more possession than Barcelona, a feat rarely achieved by any away team at the Nou Camp (52 to 48 per cent).
Key to this was the selection of midfielder Harry Winks, selected instead of Eric Dier.
At the top of his game, Dier is an excellent defensive midfielder, who has tried to cultivate himself a reputation as a destroyer.
His performance for England against Spain and his tackle on Sergio Ramos showed what he can bring to the party.
It would have been easy for manager Mauricio Pochettino to look to replicate this, select Dier, and urge him to go out there and put himself about.
Instead Pochettino picked Harry Winks, who is not as accomplished defensively as Dier, but he is superior in possession.
Winks was impressive, completing 91.5 per cent of his passes at the Nou Camp, a figure only bettered by Christian Eriksen.
Perhaps Dier would have shut down Ousmane Dembele’s run for his opening goal where Winks could not, but the way the rest of the game panned out, Mauricio Pochettino’s team selection was justified.
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