Tottenham fell to another Premier League defeat as they were beaten 3-2 at home by Aston Villa.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side went 3-0 down and then scored two late goals to reduce the deficit, but it goes without saying that the away side won quite comfortably.
The Lilywhites started the game with Mateus Fernandes as an advanced midfielder, with the likes of Savio, Omar Marmoush and Dom Solanke leading the line.
Fernandes was subbed off at half-time for Mohammed Kudus, who actually made a massive difference in the second half and got himself a well-deserved assist.
And De Zerbi feels the former West Ham man could have fared a lot better despite it being an unfamiliar position for him.
De Zerbi feels Fernandes can improve for Tottenham
“Mateus is different than Kudus,” began the Italian when asked why he decided to substitute the Portuguese midfielder.
“I have big confidence in Mateus but I didn’t like his performance today. It’s not an attack on him because I love him. I just want more from him, even in that position.”
To be fair to De Zerbi, Fernandes had a rare bad game as an advanced midfielder and made way for Kudus, who was arguably Tottenham’s best player on the night.
Tottenham have options only to use them, and in a game where a lot of things went wrong, Kudus’ performance is surely a silver lining.
