Worse than Werner: Spurs ace lost the ball 14x was so disappointing
On Sunday, Tottenham Hotspur tied Manchester United 2-2 at Old Trafford in the Premier League. They came back from two goals down to do it.
Some of Ange Postecoglou’s best players, like James Maddison, Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr, and Manor Solomon, were not available for selection, but the team still put on a great show.
After Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford put the home team ahead 1-0 and 2-1, goals from Richarlison and Rodrigo Bentancur kept them from losing in Manchester.
| Current Premier League top six (14/01/2024) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Position | Matches played | Points |
| Liverpool | 1 | 20 | 45 |
| Man City | 2 | 20 | 43 |
| Aston Villa | 3 | 21 | 43 |
| Arsenal | 4 | 20 | 40 |
| Tottenham | 5 | 21 | 40 |
| West Ham | 6 | 20 | 34 |
It might have been better for Spurs, though, if they had capitalized on the chances they created with their great build-up play.
The wide area had a lot of room, but Brennan Johnson had the most trouble. He was worse than Timo Werner, who started on the left side.
What Timo Werner did best against Manchester United
In the first week of the month, the Germany international joined on loan from RB Leipzig. He played 80 minutes of action right away at Old Trafford.
The former Chelsea player didn’t have a great start, though. During the first half, he missed two good chances to put Andre Onana in the United goal.
Without any help, he hit the ball high over the bar from the edge of the box. A few minutes later, he got into the penalty area and took a low shot that went wide of the goalkeeper’s left post.
Werner did make a very important addition soon after halftime, though. He made 91% of the throws he tried. The forward made a smart move to cut inside from the left wing and slip a sharp pass to Bentancur. The latter was able to fire the ball in to tie the game at 2-2.
Brennan Johnson’s weak performance at Old Trafford
Johnson, on the other hand, played on the opposite side but missed his chance to stand out in a big game, even though he was on the field for 96 minutes.
The attacker from Nottingham Forest wasn’t very good for Spurs when they had the ball or when they didn’t. He also seemed hesitant to attack Aaron Wan-Bissaka at times.
| 23/24 Premier League | Brennan Johnson (via Sofascore) |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 18 |
| Expected Goals | 3.46 |
| Goals | 1 |
| Expected Assists | 1.86 |
| Assists | 4 |
Johnson failed all three dribbles he tried during the game, and he lost 60% (6/10) of his duels overall. This shows that United’s players found it too easy to beat the Spurs player when they got physical.
The £70,000-a-week The Wales international lost the ball 14 times and only set up one chance for his team in 96 minutes, which was worth 0.05 xG. Basically, the shooter would have to make one out of twenty shots from that point of view.
He was let go down the right side of the field in the first half and had a chance to slide the ball across the box for Richarlison. The Brazilian player got ahead of his blocker and sent a cross that went over the head of the player. It got even worse because he was touched less (43) than even Vicario, the goalie.
As a co-commentator for Sky Sports, Gary Neville said it was “disappointing” from the 22-year-old forward, which pretty much sums up his whole game.
So, Johnson was worse than Werner, who was making his start and had not played since December 13th, because he didn’t make a difference in the game, either with or without the ball.
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