‘Really good’… Sky Sports commentator seriously impressed by ‘classy’ Tottenham player today
The performance Rodrigo Bentancur put up for Tottenham Hotspur today left Alan Smith quite impressed.
While co-commentating on the match on Sky Sports, Smith gave special attention to the Spurs midfield player.
Tottenham started the match against Aston Villa on a high note, creating multiple openings in the first few minutes of play.
Within the first ten minutes, Dejan Kulusevski struck the post as Spurs kept getting past Villa’s high defensive line.
After all, Giovani Lo Celso scored the first goal of the match with a well-struck effort from the edge of the box that was slightly deflected beyond Emiliano Martinez by Ezri Konsa.
In the first half, Spurs looked strong offensively, as Rodrigo Bentancur played a key role in some of their most successful plays.
Upon his comeback from an extended absence due to an ACL injury, the 26-year-old was given his first start of the year.
He was forced off with another injury due to a late challenge by Matty Cash, which finished his day early. However, in the early going of the game, Alan Smith was impressed by what he saw from the midfielder.
Smith was impressed with Bentancur’s display
Speaking on Sky Sports, Smith praised Bentancur for being a “classy” park operator.
He said, “But Bentancur has shown some classy touches out there.” He’s gotten off to a fast start in this game and is a really talented player.
“He wants to jump on things and try to get things done.”
“He’s been pivotal to Tottenham’s bright start here,” he said after the half.
Despite having the better of the first half, the Spurs could not capitalise on their chances to shoot.
Pau Torres levelled things up just before halftime, making Ange Postecoglou’s team regret their missed chances.
In the second half, Tottenham was still in control and creating opportunities, but Villa was more adept at scoring. The Spurs lost 2-1, even though they kept creating in the last third of the game after Ollie Watkins scored just before the hour.
In a related development:
‘He is a vile footballer’, ‘I wish nothing but the worst for him’ – Tottenham fans fume at Matty Cash after 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa
After Rodrigo Bentacur was hurt during Sunday afternoon’s 2-1 loss to Tottenham, fans took to social media to express their displeasure with Matty Cash.
After Giovani Lo Celso’s first goal, Villa came away with all three points from their trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to goals from Ollie Watkins and Pau Torres.
Aston Villa, led by Unai Emery, moved up to fourth place in the Premier League table as a result of the outcome, two points ahead of Spurs, who have now lost three straight league games.
At the interval, Unai Emery made a move, substituting Leon Bailey for Cash, following a fierce first half between the two teams.
Although Cash began the game in an advanced position on the right side, he was unable to have an effect and was reprimanded by referee Rob Jones when he recklessly challenged Bentacur, fouling him after 27 minutes.
Only a few days after returning from a severe knee injury that kept him out of action for nine months, Bentacur was hurt on the pitch.
On X, the platform that was formerly known as Twitter, Spurs supporters were left furious with the Polish international.
Did Cash get lucky not to get a red card? This supporter thinks Cash would have been dismissed from any other Premier League “Big Six” team.
Some Tottenham supporters recalled the day when Matt Doherty was hurt by Cash’s tackle as well.
Some Spurs fans even wished for Cash to suffer an injury himself.
Unai Emery was encouraged by Aston Villa supporters to substitute Cash from the pitch following a “disaster” performance, in addition to the ire of Tottenham supporters.
