On the latest episode of the Extra Inch podcast, Chris Miller, Nathan Clark and Bardi have been reacting to Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-1 defeat against Sheffield United.
One topic of conversation on the recent episode, which was titled: ‘Ragecast‘, was the performance of Moussa Sissoko in the defeat at Bramall Lane. The French midfielder started for the third successive game since the restart but struggled to have much impact in the Sheffield United math; earning a 6.72 rating for his performance.
Miller suggested that Harry Winks was Spurs’ ‘best possession midfielder’ and that playing him against the Blades in midweek should have been a ‘no-brainer. Despite this, Clark suggested that he likes the midfield duo of Giovani Lo Celso and Moussa Sissoko that Jose Mourinho eventually selected, saying:
“I’m really happy with the Sissoko-Lo Celso midfield and I feel similarly about [Harry] Winks, but I think that the Sissoko-Lo Celso midfield makes a lot of sense right now.”
However, Miller disagreed, as he criticised the former Newcastle man in his reply:
“He was horrendous in possession today. He’s really fine at things like protecting the ball and winning it back and laying it off to another player to do something with. As soon as he gets the ball in the final third, it’s an absolute nightmare, there’s no decision-making at all.”
TIF Thoughts…
WhoScored suggests that Sissoko enjoyed a very solid 89% pass accuracy rate against Sheffield United, which doesn’t really back up Miller’s point about him being horrendous in possession.
Was Sissoko poor against Sheffield United?
Yes
No
However, considering that Spurs enjoyed 68% possession in the game against the Blades, but were able to muster just two shots on goal (per BBC), you could argue that they could have done with more of a creative influence in midfield, rather than a player such as Sissoko; with his interceptions and recoveries statistics suggesting that he is more of a ball-winner.