Ramon Vega singles out Tottenham player who must ‘improve massively’ after Super Cup heartbreak
Tottenham Hotspur suffered an agonising defeat in the UEFA Super Cup and former player Ramon Vega has called out a player who made a critical error.
Thomas Frank was minutes away from getting off to a dream start at Tottenham, but securing a second European trophy in under four months proved to be too tough a task.
Spurs put in a valiant display against PSG and were in a highly promising position towards the end of the game. However, they continued to spend less and less time in possession of the ball and struggled to relieve the pressure exerted by the Champions League winners.
As the legs of the starting eleven began to tire, it was clear that substitutions needed to be made, but Frank clearly lacked confidence in his substitutes. It took 72 minutes for the Dane to make his first changes and only three substitutions had been made as stoppage time approached.
The players to come on failed to have any positive impact on the game, and one player in particular had a poor showing.
Ramon Vega questions Mathys Tel after Tottenham cameo
Former Tottenham defender called out one of Tottenham’s substitutions after the final whistle sounded in Udine. His X post read: “Tel? Needs to improve massively.”
Mathys Tel was only brought on with ten minutes remaining, but that was enough time for him to face criticism. He failed to win any duels and committed a few fouls, including one on the edge of the Spurs penalty box.
However, his biggest mistake came in the penalty shootout, which PSG won after slotting in four of their five spot kicks. The Frenchman had the beating of Lucas Chevalier, but his penalty completely missed the target, just like Vitinha’s had moments earlier.
Tel’s poor cameo has been noted by the likes of Fotmob and Sofascore, who gave him match ratings of 5.9 and 4.9 respectively.
Mathys Tel has barely had a good game for Tottenham… yet
Holding a metaphorical knife to the throat of a young player after a defeat is never a good idea. However, football is a brutal sport and noting a player’s disappointing display is often necessary.
For Tel, there have been a number of poor displays since he made the switch from Bayern Munich to Tottenham. Other than his goal in the FA Cup against Aston Villa, the 20-year-old has not shown much to justify the money Spurs have splashed to bring him to the club.
It is difficult to see the difference between Tel and a player like Mikey Moore, who has been shipped off on loan to Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.
There is time for Tel to find his feet and Tottenham and writing him off this early would be unfair. However, perhaps Vega has a point. Tel must improve if he wants to be rewarded with first-team opportunities. He needs to show Spurs supporters why his club were willing to invest £29m to make him their own.
READ MORE – Tottenham player ratings v PSG in UEFA Super Cup
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