Richarlison impressed in Tottenham’s 2-0 win over Chelsea but he is still without a Spurs goal since the 2-0 Champions League win over Marseille at the start of September
Richarlison caught the eye in Tottenham’s win over Chelsea with his defensive work
Richarlison will ultimately be judged on the amount of goals he scores for Tottenham after his £60million move from Everton last summer. That is indeed the case for all strikers in the game, with the spotlight very much shining on those who cost an eye-watering sum.
Making a real impression on Merseyside in his four years with the Toffees, the Brazilian has showed glimpses of his quality in his short time with Spurs but very little has fallen his way in the final third so far. To date, the 25-year-old only has two goals for his new club, both of which came against Marseille in the Champions League at the start of September.
The goal drought will of course come to an end at some point but Richarlison displayed another side of his game against Chelsea that will have been very much appreciated by all of his Tottenham teammates and the coaching staff. Starting on the left of the front three alongside Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevski, Brazil’s No.9 not only played his part in attack but he more than did his fair share at the other end of the pitch to help nullify the threat of Reece James and Hakim Ziyech down Chelsea’s right flank.
The Blues duo just didn’t have a say on proceedings and that was partly due to Richarlison teaming up with Clement Lenglet and Ben Davies to ensure that the hosts were defensively sound The attacker’s work off the ball was certainly noted by teammate Oliver Skipp, who hailed the ex-Watford man when speaking following the 2-0 victory.
“I think the team spirit is really good in the group. You saw the defenders making big tackles, you saw Richy must have covered the left-back spot about 15 times. Deki, everyone really, our forward players, midfielders, everyone put in big shifts to limit their threats,” said the academy graduate, who scored his first Tottenham goal in the win.
“I don’t feel like they created too many chances, we looked like the most likely team to score. It was a massive shift from everyone, especially second half, we really stepped up and I think we showed our fitness levels too.”
A look at Richarlison’s numbers from his 89 minutes on the pitch highlight the big impact he had in terms of the defensive side of his performance and also something different to what Son Heung-min perhaps offers Winning four of his five tackles for an 80% success rate, he also made seven recoveries, one clearance and one headed clearance.
He then came out on top in 12 of his 21 duels, winning nine of his 15 ground duels and three of his six aerial duels. His willingness to fight for the ball, do the dirty work and the hard yards for the team didn’t go unnoticed, all of which were the qualities that he displayed week in, week out for Everton that resulted in him becoming a hero at Goodison Park.
The goals, some important ones at that, also played their part in helping him achieve that status on Merseyside and that is very much the next target for him in north London. Richarlison had two attempts on goal but neither threatened Kepa Arrizabalaga as they were both off target.
He did, however, have a say in Skipp’s opener with a lovely sweeping pass on the turn to Kulusevski seconds before Emerson Royal had seen a shot saved before it eventually fell the midfielder’s way. His first Tottenham Premier League goal is the one thing he craves at present, though, and he looked visibly disappointed to go off in the 89th minute.
He was given a standing ovation for his display and it was deserved after his fight, hard work and defending helped Tottenham get the job done and register three important points in the top-four race. As impressive as the other side of his game is, it’s all going to come down to goals for the player or the £60million price tag will constantly be used as a stick to beat him with.
Once he is up and running in front of goal, which will hopefully be sooner rather than later, Antonio Conte and Tottenham are going to have some player on their hands. One goal could be all that is needed for Tottenham to see the real Richarlison.
