Tottenham Hotspur suffered a disappointing 1-0 loss away at Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon, and Sky Sports pundit Jamie O'Hara has questioned manager Ange Postecoglou’s team selection for such a difficult game.
Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the only goal of the game just after the half hour mark to clinch the host’s first Premier League win of the campaign. For Spurs, the result puts them eighth in the standings, and they remain above Brentford only on goal difference.
Postecoglou called upon 17-year-old Mikey Moore to start in the front three alongside Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson at Selhurst Park, but O’Hara believes the manager should have stuck with the more experienced Timo Werner, as he told Sky Sports:
“I think Ange [Postecoglou] got it wrong. I think he picked the wrong team. Starting a 17-year-old away from home against Crystal Palace is a big, big ask. He [Moore] did alright but it’s a big ask to come in for that game and make something happen.
“Use him for 20 or 25 minutes, but the damning indictment of that is that Timo Werner has been so poor he [Postecouglou] has had to start Mikey Moore. But, I would have stuck with Werner and given him another game, especially away from home as he’s experienced.”
Moore is a product of the Spurs academy and he made his senior debut at the end of last season in the defeat against Manchester City. He now has eight senior appearances to his name, seven of which have come this season.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Tottenham have won an average of 1.63 points per game in the Premier League this season
Werner, on the other hand, made his name in the Bundesliga for RB Leipzig. He made the move to Chelsea in 2020, but returned to his former club in Germany two years later. The striker is now a little over halfway through a loan spell with Spurs.
The North London club return to action midweek with the visit of Manchester City in the round of 16 of the Carabao Cup. They will then host Aston Villa in the Premier League next weekend.