Tottenham Hotspur star Destiny Udogie put in an awful second half as his side collapsed from a 2-0 lead at half-time to a 3-2 loss against Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday afternoon – and that has seen Spurs journalist Alasdair Gold land him a paltry 3/10 match rating after a tough afternoon on the south coast.
Goals from Brennan Johnson – who has now scored in six games in a row in all competitions – and James Maddison had Tottenham cruising at half-time, with Brighton unable to land a glove on their counterparts as Ange Postecoglou’s men controlled the game. But an early second-half strike from Yankuba Minteh and an equaliser from Georginio Rutter quickly levelled the tie out of nowhere, before some shocking defending saw former Arsenal man Danny Welbeck turn the game on its head – and Udogie has been criticised for his role in the loss, with Gold labelling him as ‘weak’ and ‘poor’.
Gold: Udogie ‘Poor’ in Shocking Brighton Collapse
The defender was accountable for all three goals
After the shock comeback from the Seagulls, Gold only gave Tottenham’s best players in Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke and Maddison seven out of ten ratings.
But Udogie came in as Tottenham’s worst player on the night, with the Italian only being given a three out of ten for his dismal second half performance where he was at fault for each goal as Brighton stunned them on the south coast to leave Postecoglou’s side empty-handed. Gold wrote:
“Back after missing the midweek match, and he played well in the first half, only to make a mess off trying to clear a cross and presenting the ball to Minteh to score. Put in a weak challenge on Rutter before he scored Brighton’s second and was poor again with the same player for the third, getting himself nutmegged and beaten. A poor day at the office from the young Italian. 3.”
Tottenham’s Defence Will Get Better With Experience
They have one of the best – yet youngest – defences in the league
Udogie was one of the better players in Tottenham’s season last time out, registering two assists in their opening nine games as the Lilywhites went unbeaten for 11 games to start the Premier League campaign – and notched his first goal for the club in December in a 4-1 win over Newcastle United to keep the club in the race for a top four space.
But a hamstring injury ruled him out of the late parts of the season, where Tottenham won just two games from their final seven to all but end a Champions League run – and with no assists or goals so far this season despite Tottenham winning three of their games in the division, the 21-year-old will be expected to bounce back to his best.
Udogie has another six years left on his contract in north London, and so he is in the team for the long-run, with his inverted passing, tenacity and footballing IQ being extremely impressive at such a young age. With Pedro Porro, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero to boast for their backline, Tottenham are a top young team and their time will come with results if their young stars can blossom and form as a unit in the coming months.
