Tottenham Hotspur were dealt a major blow in their battle to secure European qualification after falling to a 2-1 defeat away to Aston Villa earlier today, with the two sides now level on points with just two games left of the season.
Having ended their four-game winless run at home to Crystal Palace last weekend, the Lilywhites were unable to build on that 1-0 victory after producing a disappointing display this time around, simply struggling to recover from Jacob Ramsey’s early strike.
The Villans then extended that lead with less than 20 minutes to play courtesy of a delightful, curling free-kick from Douglas Luiz, with a late penalty from Tottenham talisman Harry Kane proving nothing more than a mere consolation for the north London outfit.
That underwhelming result and performance will likely have been of great frustration to caretaker boss Ryan Mason, with the 31-year-old potentially set to have been particularly concerned by the anonymous, midfield display of compatriot, Oliver Skipp.
How did Skipp perform against Villa?
With Rodrigo Bentancur having been ruled out for the season – and with Yves Bissouma having also endured his own injury woes throughout the campaign – Skipp has been the man tasked to partner Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the centre of the park in recent months, albeit while contributing just one goal and no assists in 29 games in all competitions to date.
That lack of impact in an attacking sense was again evident against Unai Emery’s side as the 22-year-old failed to make a single key pass, having also been restricted to just 21 touches during his 63-minute outing – fewer than even teammate Fraser Forster in the sticks (27).
It was arguably no real surprise to see the one-time Norwich City loanee withdrawn on the hour mark such was his lack of involvement, with the Spurs youth product having also won just one duel prior to his early exit, as well as losing possession on three occasions from his 16 passes.
Those woes were noted by the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick, who stated that the £40k-per-week man ‘struggled against Villa’s well-organised, pressing midfield’, while football.london’s Alasdair Gold suggested that it was ‘not the best day at the office for the young midfielder’.
That lifeless showing from the struggling England U21 international ensured that he recorded a measly match rating of just 6.3, as per Sofascore, with only teammate Richarlison (6.1) – who was restricted to just nine touches – having recorded a lower rating for either side.