Just days after a momentous victory in the north London derby against Arsenal, Tottenham headed to St James’ Park and got the job done in their clash against Newcastle.
With only a couple of games left in the season, Jose Mourinho’s side have appeared to hit form at just the right time, and know that a 100% record from here on out could see them clinch European football for the next campaign.
One man who certainly showed signs of stepping his game up in the game against Newcastle on Wednesday night, was Giovani Lo Celso.
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And following Mourinho’s worrying update on Tanguy Ndombele, it’s perhaps become even more imperative that the Argentine really kicks on.
Speaking after his side’s 3-1 victory over the Magpies, the Spurs boss said: “I know that Ndombele will not help us because his injury will keep him out for the next two matches”.
It means the Lilywhites will be without a midfielder, who for all his troubles, has shown himself to be one of the more creative and crafty players in the squad, particularly for a player in his position – as per Whoscored, he has averaged 1.8 dribbles per game in the top-flight, scoring twice and setting up two more as well.
On the other hand, Lo Celso, whilst a first-team regular under both Mauricio Pochettino and Mourinho, hasn’t had the kind of same impact in terms of goal contributions.
Barring his assist for Heung-min Son against Newcastle, the Argentina international had only provided one other Premier League assist, and is still yet to score in the division too.
The £36m-rated star must take on more of the creative workload at Spurs now that Mourinho doesn’t have Ndombele to call upon even if he wanted to, and there were signs of him doing just that against Steve Bruce’s side.
As per Sofascore, he completed both of his attempted dribbles, had 61 touches of the ball, made 37 successful passes out of 39, and provided two key passes too.
With Leicester and Crystal Palace to come, Spurs will need Lo Celso’s creativity more than ever. Otherwise, they face risk undoing all the hard work they have put in, especially in these last two games.
