After Tottenham’s defeat to Brighton last weekend, the whole defensive line has come in for its fair share of criticism. But now, Jeff Stelling has highlighted Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie in particular as having real problems in their game.
Catastrophic defending from Spurs
With Spurs leading 2-0 at half-time and looking to be in complete control of the game on Sunday evening, very few would have predicted the absolute meltdown suffered in the second half.
Within 20 minutes of the restart, Brighton were 3-2 up, and Tottenham showed no signs of being able to deal with or fight back against what the Seagulls had to offer.
While the Lilywhites failed to muster up any kind of counter-attack, it was in defence where the larger issues surfaced, with the whole backline making mistakes and showing signs of complacency.
The usually so dependable centre-back pairing of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven appeared to be off the pace and lacking the awareness to deal with the threat Brighton’s attackers posed.
Meanwhile, down both flanks, Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie failed to prevent the swift movement and ball delivery of the Brighton wingers.
Porro and Udogie need to focus on defensive duties
It is those full-backs that caught the eye of Jeff Stelling, for all the wrong reasons. The pundit took issue with the pair on talkSPORT (07/10/24 at 6:15 am), suggesting they need to work on the defensive side of their game.
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He said: “First of all, there is no shame in losing to Brighton, it happens to the best of sides, but it was the manner of the defeat.
“I think they have an issue with both fullbacks defensively. Porro and Udogie, they are terrific going forward, but defensively.”
There has to be a balance
We all love watching Porro and Udogie burst forward, and they both offer so much in attacking areas. But, their job first and foremost is to defend, and on Sunday, they failed to do that — especially Udogie. They need to show more composure, more concentration, and more discipline, or they will cost us dearly.