Any number of Tottenham Hotspur players could take the blame for the disastrous defeat to Brighton on Sunday evening, but the Sky Sports panel have pointed the finger at one in particular for his part in the decisive goal.
An away trip to the Amex Stadium is never easy, and Brighton are unbeaten at home this season, so the challenge awaiting Spurs was always going to be a tricky one to navigate.
However, Tottenham made it look simple in the first half, registering the majority of possession and the better chances in front of goal, converting two of them via Brennan Johnson and James Maddison to be firmly in control by half-time.
The game flipped on its head entirely in the second half, though, with Brighton racing out of the traps to punish Spurs with a triple blow within 20 minutes of the restart thanks to goals from Yankuba Minteh, Georginio Rutter, and Danny Welbeck.
The whole Spurs backline, particularly Destiny Udogie, looked out of sorts and will surely feel some degree of responsibility for the result.
However, it is midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur who has copped criticism when it comes to Brighton’s third goal, with former Spurs star Les Ferdinand telling the Sky Sports studio that the Uruguayan simply had to get the ball out of play before it was crossed into the box.
Discussing Rutter’s involvement in the goal, as he battled down the right side of the Tottenham box before beating Udogie and Bentancur and ensuring the ball found Welbeck in the middle, there was plenty of praise for the Brighton man.
But, on Bentancur’s role, Ferdinand said: “Bentancur has got to put that out of play. He has just got to put that out of play. He’s trying to ease this out and allow this to go [for a goal kick].”
Yes, Bentancur should have got the ball cleared immediately and he has to be stronger in that situation. But, for me, Udogie has let Rutter beat him far too easily, and the young Italian just seemed to be so careless and complacent throughout that second half.
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