It seems almost unfair to cast Mousa Dembele as the villain behind Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final, at the end of season that has seen the Belgium midfielder’s form reach new, almost unplayable heights at times.
But compared to Spurs’ 2-0 Premier League win over the Red Devils at Wembley back in January, Dembele’s varying influence stands out as one of the key differences between both performances and results.
Back in January, the 30-year-old’s impact in midfield was so monstrous that Jose Mourinho felt compelled to haul off Paul Pogba with half an hour left to play. That afternoon saw him create three chances, complete 95% of his passes and give possession away just eight times, in a display that provided the platform for Tottenham to record a huge win over a Big Six rival.
On Saturday though, Dembele was surprisingly sloppy, a recurring theme of his performance that was epitomised by Pogba tackling him for United’s first goal – the Frenchman then whipping a pinpoint cross into Alexis Sanchez for the equaliser.
Overall, Dembele gave the ball away ten times, completing only 91% of his passes while suffering two unsuccessful touches and three dispossessions, and perhaps most worryingly he only won the ball back seven times – managing just one interception and failing to register a single tackle before being subbed off in the 77th minute.
For United’s second goal too, it was Dembele – who Transfermarkt value at £16.2million – that appeared to lose Ander Herrera before the Spaniard grabbed the winner by latching onto a loose touch from Romelu Lukaku and drilling past Michel Vorm.
That rounded off an incredibly disappointing evening for the former Fulham man, who just seemed to lack focus during the most important domestic fixture of Tottenham’s 2017/18 campaign.
But at the end of such a fine season from Dembele, which may prove to be his last with Tottenham, it shouldn’t be this performance that it’s remembered for.
It’s unlikely Spurs would have reached the FA Cup semi-final, the quarter-finals of the Champions League or so comfortably clinched a top four finish without Dembele providing that platform of control in midfield.
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