Jamie O’Hara says that one Tottenham player’s performance against Manchester City reminded him of a prime Lionel Messi while adding that another much-maligned Spurs man also delivers credit.
Ange Postecoglou surprised a lot of people by moving Dejan Kulusevski to the right and bringing James Maddison into the starting eleven against Man City, but that proved to be an inspired decision.
The pair combined for Tottenham’s first goal and along with Heung-min Son and Dominic Solanke, they tore the City defence apart, with Pep Guardiola’s men struggling to cope with their movement and pressing.
O’Hara has become the latest pundit to wax lyrical about Kulusevski‘s display against City, but he went a step further than others, claiming that the Tottenham man reminded him of Messi in his pomp.
The former Spurs midfielder told Grosvenor Sport “Tottenham were unbelievable against Manchester City last weekend. Dejan Kulusevski came in and performed to a world-class standard – it was like watching Lionel Messi in his prime at times. He always steps up against City.”
O’Hara also praised Maddison for delivering a top display on his return to the side after a few difficult weeks.
He added: “I think James Maddison also deserves a lot of credit for his performance, he was brilliant and he’s a player who, truthfully, has struggled this season.
“He needs his plaudits for that performance – he’s had a tough period and he’s been out of the team; he dictated the tempo of the game exceptionally and we saw the old James Maddison there. If he plays like that going forwards, he is worth every penny that Tottenham paid for him.”
While most of the focus has understandably been on the fact that Spurs put four past City at the Etihad, the bigger achievement was arguably the clean sheet, given that the away side were without Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven.
O’Hara admitted that he was impressed with what he saw from Ben Davies and Radu Dragusin on Saturday.
The talkSPORT pundit said about Spurs’ defensive display: “Ben Davies and Radu Dragusin were solid, they were compact, and they did the job that they were told to do. It was good to see them defend first, and then playing. It was a joy to watch.”
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