Brennan Johnson had the chance to take home the match ball against Southampton—but instead handed over the spotlight to Mathys Tel. Now, the Tottenham winger has revealed why.
Ange Postecoglou would have been delighted with the way his team went about their business against lowly Southampton on Sunday afternoon.
There were a few positives for Tottenham in their clash against the Saints, with one of them being Brennan Johnson’s brace, which now sees the wide forward end his eight-match goalless run in all competitions.
Of course, Postecoglou would be pleased his winger is hitting form right before their two-legged tie against Frankfurt in the Europa League quarter-finals first leg.
Brennan Johnson wanted to take Tottenham penalty
Brennan Johnson’s brace against Southampton took his Premier League goal tally into double figures, with the winger now sitting on 11 goals—more than any other Tottenham player.
He had the chance to make it 12 after winning a penalty in the dying moments, and had he taken it, he’d have sealed his hat-trick and padded his numbers even further.
But instead, he passed up the opportunity, allowing Bayern loanee Mathys Tel to take the spot kick, which the Frenchman dispatched coolly for his first Premier League goal in a Spurs shirt.
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Johnson has now explained why he let Tel take the penalty. Speaking to the club’s official Twitter account, he said: “It’s only normal for me to want to take the penalty. There’s only a certain amount of talking to do before it gets quite messy.
“I’ve been in the situation before when I’ve had people wanting to take the ball off me and it kind of unsettles you a little bit.
“I knew the game was pretty much done but still, I didn’t want to unsettle anyone or start any disagreements. So, once the decision was made, I just had to get on with it.”
Cristian Romero made the penalty call as Spurs captain
It’s since come to light that vice-captain Cristian Romero was the one who made the penalty call on Sunday, handing the ball to Tel before embracing Johnson, who didn’t seem too fussed post-match.
As for what’s next, Postecoglou now faces another decision ahead of Thursday night’s Europa League clash against Frankfurt—whether to stick with Johnson on the right or bring back Wilson Odobert, who was instrumental against AZ Alkmaar in the round of 16 second leg.
With Johnson now leading the club’s goalscoring charts and Tel opening his account, regardless of who the manager opts for, Tottenham’s attacking options are in a decent place.