OPINION
With Toby Alderweireld likely to miss the second leg against Juventus, Davinson Sanchez must improve his performance from the first game against the Italian giants and make fans forget that the 28-year-old defender is even missing.
Mauricio Pochettino confirmed on Friday that Alderweireld was unlikely to feature against Juventus on March 7, which means Sanchez is likely to find himself playing in the second leg at Wembley.
“I think we need to be cautious with him (Alderweireld) because we still need to assess him every day,” said Pochettino, as quoted by Sky Sports.
“I don’t believe he can be ready for Juventus.”
Sanchez played in the first leg against Juventus, where his side achieved a memorable 2-2 draw, but he was one of the few Spurs players who couldn’t be proud about their performance after the game.
The 21-year-old defender looked nervous playing in such an important match and it seemed to dramatically affect his display.
Sanchez was mistiming challenges all over the pitch and this appeared to be caused by the fact he was hesitating when deciding to go into tackles.
Whether the occasion was just too much for him or his teammate Serge Aurier clumsy giving away a penalty early in the game, made him second guess himself, the centre-back was lucky not to cause his side to lose.
Though it’s worth noting that Sanchez had to deal with the experienced Gonzalo Higuain, which didn’t help him, as the Argentinian forward would be a challenge for any centre-back in the world to deal with.
While it would be harsh to blame Higuian’s goal, that wasn’t from the penalty spot on Sanchez, at the end of the day, the 21-year-old was meant to be the player responsible for stopping the veteran scoring.
Sanchez’s performance would no doubt have had fans screaming for Alderweireld to feature in the second leg at the heart of Spurs’ defence, but as that looks unlikely to be an option now, the 21-year-old must prove himself in the game at Wembley.
Sanchez has made 31 appearances since joining for £42m, according to The Guardian, from Ajax in the summer and he can prove that he was worth the money by putting in a memorable display against Juventus on March 7.
All he needs to do is put in an excellent performance, that he is capable of, against the Italian giants to ensure that fans don’t end up saying how much the side needed Alderweireld after it’s all over.