It might be a tired cliché, but last night felt like a game of two halves for Tottenham Hotspur.
Ange Postecoglou's side played host to Manchester City, and set out to pick up their fourth Premier League win on the bounce.
Unfortunately, a goal from the recently returned Erling Haaland made sure that didn't happen, and while the visitors could have been three or four up in the first half, the Lilywhites had bountiful chances of their own in the second 45.
However, while there were several players who put in solid shifts for the North Londoners, there were still some who let themselves down, such as Pedro Porro, who the manager should never have started.'
Why Postecoglou shouldn't have started Porro
After starting the game against Ipswich Town over the weekend on the bench, there would've been hope among some of the Spurs faithful that Postecoglou would keep Porro there for last night's game.
Unfortunately, the Australian decided to start him at right-back, and to the surprise of very few, it turned out to be a sizeable mistake, as even while he might have a great pass on him, time after time this season, he has proven himself incapable of defending.
It might sound harsh, but it's an opinion shared by journalist Mitch Fretton, who described him as a "familiar" problem while football.london's Alasdair Gold gave him a 5/10 match rating at full-time, writing that he 'had a tough night' against Jeremy Doku, which is quite the understatement.
The Belgian turned the former Sporting CP ace inside out all night, and if it wasn't the tricky winger giving him problems, he was creating them himself.
For example, in his 90-plus minutes of action, the 25-year-old endeavoured to give the ball away 12 times and did so for Haaland's disallowed goal at the end of the game.
Overall, it was another horror show for the error-prone full-back, and it's clear that Postecoglou made a massive mistake in starting him over the player who started there on the weekend.
The Spurs star who should've started against City
With Archie Gray starting at centre-back alongside Kevin Danso and the lack of other defensive options, it will come as no surprise that the player Postecoglou should have started over Porro last night was Djed Spence.
The former Middlesbrough full-back has been a revelation since breaking into the first team this season - as evidenced by the crowd's roar upon his arrival last night - and considering how dismal the Spaniard has been for much of the campaign, he should have been in from the first whistle.
Not only can he help out in the final third - he already has four goal involvements in 20 appearances this year - but he's also far more secure and reliable when it comes to the defensive side of the game, which, even in the modern game, is incredibly important for a full-back.
For example, when we compare their underlying numbers, the "unbelievable" Englishman, as dubbed by Ian Wright, comes out ahead in the majority of relevant defensive metrics, including but not limited to tackles, tackles won, all blocks, shots blocked, passes blocked, aerial duels won and more, all per 90.
Lastly, on top of having the better defensive numbers on paper, the £20m titan also appears to be far better at anticipating the movements of opposition wingers, as unlike Porro, he rarely seems to find himself on the floor after mistiming a tackle.
Ultimately, while the team certainly weren't dreadful last night, Postecoglou got it very wrong not starting Spence, and we can't see him making the same decision in the Europa League next week.