Tottenham blew Crystal Palace away with a 4-0 win against Roy Hodgson’s side in North London on Saturday and although it was a superb attacking display, it was defender Toby Alderweireld who caught the eye of many fans for his performance.
Alderweireld, 30, may have been up for grabs in the summer due to a widely-reported release clause in his contract but Spurs fans must be so relieved that he has remained their player after a truly fantastic display against Palace.
The former Atletico Madrid centre-back supplied the assist for Heung-min Son’s first goal when he hit the back of the net in the ninth minute and continued to impress throughout the rest of the match both on and off the ball.
Alderweireld is a clear fan favourite among the Spurs faithful and they were delighted to see the Belgium international on top of his game once again this weekend.
Here is a selection of some of their tweets:
Toby is just top, top class. Imagine not signing him for £25 million… What a bloke. Never been any thing less than professional with his scenario. What a guy. #THFC #Coys #TOTCRY
— COYS, Callum (@coyskine) September 14, 2019
It is not hard to see why so many Tottenham fans were drooling over the range of passing that Alderweireld showed against Crystal Palace.
According to stats by WhoScored, the 6ft 1 [transfermarkt] Belgian completed 106 passes on Saturday, which was more than any other player on the pitch throughout the 90 minutes – 10 more than Jan Vertonghen who had the second-most.
Only Vertonghen [8] won more aerial duels than Alderweireld [4] too and Christian Eriksen [3] was the only Spurs player to win more tackles than the Belgian [2].
It was a complete display by the centre-back, who did way more than just show off his excellent passing in the match.
HT thoughts:
– Sonny on fire?
– This is the effect when we play our best right back
– Alderweireld's passing unreal?
– Poch's faith in Lamela being repayed#THFC #COYS #TOTCRY pic.twitter.com/EIQ56Zibhy— COYS.com (@COYS_com) September 14, 2019
Toby Alderweireld is up their with the likes of KDB and Eriksen in passing ability and range. His ability to pick out the long ball every time without fail is incredible and has made at least 4/5 40yd passes already today
https://t.co/dRDMCYcuYE— Max ? (@MaxTHFC_) September 14, 2019
Yep superb but MOTM so far has been Toby…spraying it around like a Sunday afternoon in the park. Impeccable.
— Jonathan Rose (@jrrose82) September 14, 2019
https://twitter.com/FaZeAn__/status/1172885925686325255
Also, Toby is good at football. #THFC #COYS
— mdknoll (@mdknoll) September 14, 2019
Toby and jan playing like DM’s! Completely controlling the game!#COYS
— Spurs Down Under (@SpursDownUnder) September 14, 2019