Tottenham Hotspur lost for the 19th time in the Premier League this season when they were hammered 5-1 by champions Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
Spurs took a shock lead on Merseyside when Dominic Solanke found the back of the net with a brilliant header from James Maddison’s corner, but it was not a sign of things to come for Ange Postecoglou’s side in the game.
Defensive frailties were on display yet again for the Whites on a dismal afternoon at Anfield, as Liverpool had 25 shots on goal and seven efforts on target.
The Daily Mail recently reported that Postecoglou is ‘likely’ to move on from the club at the end of the season, and results like this will not do his chances of keeping his job any favours.
Tottenham’s manager cannot be spared any blame for the team’s poor form this term, because they have lost 19 matches in the division, but he has not been helped by the performances of some of the players on the pitch.
Spurs have an incredibly youthful squad, with the hope that they will develop and improve over time, and that was on display at Anfield, as Archie Gray struggled.
Why Archie Gray has struggled this season
Tottenham reportedly splashed out a fee of £30m to sign the 19-year-old midfielder from Leeds United last summer, and it has been a difficult year for the teenager.
Gray made his 24th appearance and 15th start of the Premier League season against Liverpool on Sunday, and he is still trying to establish where his best position on the pitch is.
It was his fourth start as a defensive midfielder, to go along with five starts at left-back, eight starts at right-back, and 19 starts at centre-back due to the injury issues Spurs have had in that area of the park.
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Gray, who played as a right-back typically for Leeds last season, has not had a settled position that he could make his own and deliver consistent performances in, which may be why his campaign has been fairly unimpressive on paper.
Appearances
24
Goals
0
Big chances created
0
Assists
0
Tackles + interceptions per game
1.0
Error led to shot
1
Error led to goal
1
Duel success rate
47%
As you can see in the table above, the England U21 international has failed to deliver much in the way of quality on or off the ball, with zero goal contributions and a below-average success rate in duels.
His first-half display against Liverpool before being withdrawn at the break was more of the same. Gray did not create any chances or register a shot on goal, and he only won one duel, whilst completing 80% of his attempted passes.
As you can see in the clip above, Ryan Gravenberch found it far too easy to hold off the midfielder to allow Alexis Mac Allister to fire in from range to put Liverpool 2-1 up.
It was a disappointing display from Gray, who is still learning and adjusting to Premier League football at the age of 19, but his fellow 19-year-old Lucas Bergval was even worse than him.
Why Lucas Bergval was even worse than Archie Gray
The teenage talent was selected alongside the Englishman for the trip to Anfield, leaving Spurs with a very young midfield despite having Yves Bissouma available and on the bench.
It was a difficult match for both Gray and Bergval, and that is reflected in their statistics, as the Swedish flop was even worse than the former Leeds man, notably taking fewer touches (43) than even goalkeeper Vicario (49).
Minutes
45
90
Pass accuracy
80%
72%
Dribbles completed
1/1
0/1
Possession lost
5x
13x
Dribbled past
0x
1x
Ground duels won
1/1
5/8
Interceptions
2
1
As you can see in the table above, the Sweden international was far more wasteful with the ball at his feet, completing a lower percentage of his passes, failing with his only attempted dribble, and losing the ball almost three times as much.
Bergval did win more duels than Gray but had a worse success rate and was dribbled past once, in what was a disappointing overall display from the youngster.
Player ratings courtesy of Sofascore
Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville went as far as to say that his efforts to clear the ball from a corner for Cody Gakpo’s goal were “appalling”, as his weak headed clearance fell straight to the Dutch forward inside the box.
Going to Anfield to face the champions is never an easy task, and it was a big ask from Postecoglou to put Gray and Bergval in midfield together without an experienced midfielder alongside them, as they only had James Maddison, who is an attacking player by nature, around them.
That resulted in a poor evening for both players and Spurs, who now have to prepare for a first-leg clash with Bodo/Glimt in the semi-finals of the Europa League on Thursday.
Tottenham cannot afford for their midfield to be as below-par as it was against Liverpool, as this is their last chance to win a trophy this season, and that is why Postecoglou must ruthlessly ditch Bergval from the starting XI for the clash with the Norwegian outfit.
Bissouma was an unused substitute against Liverpool on Sunday and may, now, be in contention to come back into the side after Gray and Bergval’s disappointing performances in the middle of the park.
The former Brighton & Hove Albion man has averaged 3.1 tackles and interceptions per game and won 61% of his duels in the Europa League so far this term, which suggests that he could provide some steel at the heart of the midfield on Thursday night.
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It is now down to Postecoglou to drop Bergval from the starting line-up in order to make room for Bissouma to come back into the team against Bodo/Glimt.
