The Sweden international was among the few shining lights on Saturday afternoon…
Tottenham Hotspur’s miserable season continued with defeat at home to Brentford on Saturday afternoon, with the visitors mounting an impressive second-half comeback to clinch a 3-1 triumph.
A late Yoane Wissa strike ultimately sealed all three points for the Bees following an earlier Bryan Mbeumo double, with the west London outfit recording yet another scalp in what has been a stellar season thus far.
As for Tottenham, that disappointing outcome will be of particular frustration for interim boss, Ryan Mason, with the home side having initially started brightly as record scorer Harry Kane fired home in exquisite fashion for his 28th Premier League goal of the season.
That moment of magic was as good as it got for both the 29-year-old and for Spurs in general, however, with Kane – who notably lost possession every three touches – unable to help guide his side to a much-needed victory in the battle for European qualification.
While there will be few positives to take from that limp, second-half showing, one man who did ultimately catch the eye was Sweden international, Dejan Kulusevski, with the 23-year-old having had his “best game in ages”, according to The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke.
How did Kulusevski perform against Brentford?
The on-loan Juventus man had gone into the game amid doubts over his long-term future at N17, with recent claims suggesting that the promising forward may not be signed on a permanent deal.
That decision would appear rather folly if Kulusevski’s display earlier today is anything to go by, with the one-time Parma ace having “shone” in a number ten berth, as per The Sun’s Tom Barclay.
As football.london’s Alasdair Gold also noted, the £110k-per-week ace appeared to be “relishing” the chance to line up in that playmaking berth, with Mason taking the decision to move away from Tottenham’s usual, 3-4-3 formation.
The versatile dynamo appeared to be a real beneficiary of that tactical tweak, having recorded a staggering haul of five key passes from his 45 touches, including producing the layoff for Kane’s opener.
The young Swede also again found the Three Lions marksman after the break with a clever through ball, although the typically prolific ace couldn’t only lash his effort high and wide.
That creative influence was crucial to all that was good about the home side in the first half, in particular, albeit with Kulusevski somewhat failing to maintain that impact, after being hooked in the closing stages.
Even so, despite that late withdrawal, the 6 foot 1 sensation undoubtedly proved his worth to the side after recording a stellar match rating of 7.5, as per Sofascore – the joint-highest among any Spurs player – with any prospective new appointment likely to relish the chance to work with such a talent.
