Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank had his goalkeeper to thank for his side avoiding a defeat to Monaco in the Champions League earlier this week.
Italy international Guglielmo Vicario made a stunning eight saves, preventing 2.68 goals and earning a 10 rating on Sofascore, to keep the French side at bay.
Arguably, his best save was when Folarin Balogun tried to place the ball into the bottom right corner and the Spurs goalkeeper brilliantly got down to his left to tip the ball wide of the post with a strong hand.
Whilst Frank will have been delighted with Vicario’s performance against Monaco, the former Brentford boss will not have been pleased with his team’s play in possession.
Spurs only created one ‘big chance’, per Sofascore, in the game, which shows that they did not do enough on the ball to cause Monaco problems defensively.
Lucas Bergvall was selected to play in the number ten position, ahead of Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur at the base of the midfield, and he failed to impose himself on the game.
Why Lucas Bergvall should be dropped by Spurs
The Sweden international had a huge opportunity to show that he has what it takes to nail down a place as a regular starter for Spurs in that area of the pitch, but he did not take it.
Instead, Bergvall was disappointing against Monaco. The attacking midfielder made two errors that led to shots for Monaco, without making any key passes for his own team.
This, essentially, means that he had a direct hand in creating more chances for Monaco than he did for Spurs, which sums up how ineffective the 19-year-old gem was with the ball at his feet for Tottenham.
Minutes
60
Key passes
0
Big chances created
0
Crosses completed
0/2
Shots
0
Dribbles attempted
0
Duels won
1/3
Error led to shot
2
As you can see in the table above, Bergvall played an hour without registering any key passes, completed crosses, dribbles, ‘big chances’ created, or shots, whilst he also lost two of his three duels.
These statistics suggest that Frank should be dropping the central midfielder from his starting XI for this afternoon’s trip to the Hill Dickinson to face Everton in the Premier League.
Bergvall, who scored his first top-flight goal for the club against West Ham United in September, is not an awful player who should not be in contention to play any part against Everton, though, despite his midweek showing.
The Swedish starlet has one goal and one assist in the Premier League this season, whilst he has also won 53% of his ground duels, per Sofascore, which shows that he could still provide some energy and quality off the bench as an impact substitute.
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However, his performance as a starter in the number ten position against Monaco suggests that he should not be in the starting line-up to face Everton today, as he failed to offer enough on the ball in the Champions League.
That is why Spurs head coach Frank should be unleashing summer signing Xavi Simons as the team’s attacking midfielder against the Toffees in place of Bergvall.
Why Spurs should unleash Xavi Simons over Lucas Bergvall
The Lilywhites splashed out £52m to sign the Netherlands international from RB Leipzig in the summer transfer window to bolster the club’s options at the top end of the pitch after James Maddison suffered an ACL injury in pre-season.
Simons has not hit the ground running with several goals and assists to his name for Spurs. However, he has shown some promising signs in his early performances for his new club in the top-flight.
Per Sofascore, the Dutch playmaker has created six chances, one ‘big chance’, and registered one assist in four Premier League starts for Tottenham so far this season, which shows that he has provided creativity in the number ten berth.
Supporters may be waiting for more to come from the former RB Leipzig star, though, because he arrived in England with a brilliant reputation, thanks to his form in the Bundesliga.
The 22-year-old attacking midfielder proved himself to be adept at delivering goals and assists on a regular basis as a number ten or a wide player across his two seasons with Leipzig, which is why the club opted to spend £52m to bring him to North London in the summer.
Appearances
32
25
xG
8.26
5.11
Goals
8
10
Big chances created
14
12
Key passes per game
2.5
2.0
Assists
11
7
As you can see in the table above, Simons produced 18 goals and 19 assists in two Bundesliga seasons with the German club, which shows that he can be an influential player at the top end of the pitch when he is at his best.
U23 football talent scout Antonio Mango once described the Tottenham attacking midfielder as a player who “has the X-Factor”, which is backed up by his statistics for Leipzig.
The £52m signing can be a difference-maker in the final third with his ability to both score and assist goals, which is why Frank should look to unleash him against Everton in place of Bergvall, who has yet to show a similar level of quality on the ball.
Whilst it has not fully clicked yet for Simons, who is still looking for his first goal for the Lilywhites, he has created chances and provided an assist in the Premier League, which suggests that, at the very least, he can be a creative spark against the Toffees.
It is now down to Frank to ruthlessly ditch Bergvall from his starting line-up this evening in order to bring the Netherlands international back into the side as the attacking midfielder.