Tottenham Hotspur produced their best performance and win under Ange Postecoglou on Sunday when they thrashed sorry Aston Villa 4-0 at Villa Park.
Given that Spurs went into the match five points behind their top-four rivals, with a game in hand, then nothing but a win would have been accepted here.
From the get-go, there was a lot of talk around the set-up from Unai Emery and his decision to play five at the back for Aston Villa, it proved to be a huge mistake.
A familiar face to Tottenham started at the heart of Aston Villa’s defence – Clement Lenglet.
The 28-year-old is on loan at Villa Park from Barcelona this season, after spending the previous campaign at Hotspur Way.
Tim Sherwood thinks Clement Lenglet’s former teammates targeted him at the weekend because they feel he isn’t good enough, as he told Premier League Productions (11/03/24 at 5:35 pm)
Mainly under the stewardship of Antonio Conte, Spurs finished outside of Europe last season, with their loan signing struggling to showcase his worth.
But that just wasn’t his own doing because the rest of the team was abject, with Tim Sherwood sharing his honest thoughts on the French defender.
Clement Lenglet v Tottenham
“The five at the back really surprised me, especially with Lenglet in there,” said Sherwood.
“The Tottenham players know all about Lenglet. He isn’t the greatest player. They have played alongside some of these guys.
“Before the game, when Lenglet is in that team, the likes of Son, Maddison, Johnson and Kulusevski. They would have been rubbing their hands thinking ‘we can get at this guy’.
“I am not saying he had a terrible game, he didn’t. But as a team, I felt they were far too strong, on the front foot and they blew them away.”
Clement Lenglet’s performances
It needs to be noted that the France international arrived as a squad player in the summer following the season-ending injury to Tyrone Mings.
At first, he was mainly used in Europe, before injuries continued to mount up and he was then playing regularly in the Premier League.
Yes, the weekend defeat was the worst under Emery, but it wasn’t Lenglet’s fault. That was more down to the system, more than anything else.
From the matches Lenglet has played, he has faired well for the team, been reliable and done his job, so there shouldn’t be much criticism coming his way.
