Frank Leboeuf criticises Tottenham Hotspur loanee Sergio Reguilon after Brentford beat Liverpool on Saturday.
Thomas Frank’s charges suffered a heavy defeat against the Premier League leaders, with Liverpool scoring the opening goal after a first-half mistake by Sergio Reguilon.
Virgil van Dijk cleared a ball that seemed to have caught the Beekeepers by surprise as Reguilon and Diogo Jota raced towards the half-way line. Darwin Nunez was the next outside player closest to the Brentford goal, so it was imperative that the Spurs loanee won the ball.
Sergio Reguilon criticised after defeat for Brentford:
But Reguilon did everything wrong. It seems that the Spaniard wanted to try to deflect the ball with a volley. But Jota had just enough time to get his head to the pass. The latter headed Nunez into the path to run through and beat Mark Flekken with a beautiful shot.
Frank Leboeuf, speaking to ESPN, thought that Reguilon should have done much better with van Dijk’s ball.
“I never felt they were in danger, they were strong in defence, they knew how to play. As the boys said, they had so many gifts from Brentford,” he said.
“With the first goal you had to see Reguilon trying to defend. With Jota, he doesn’t even try to go into the game with his head. Jota does it very well, he’s very clever and knows exactly what he has to do. Reguilon knows nothing about what he has to do. He tries to bounce the ball with his left foot where the ball is in the air. It is a nightmare.”
Tottenham will hope to find some form before the summer:
The left-back thing seems to be over at Tottenham, with Ange Postecoglou at the helm. Reports this week have suggested that Spurs are hoping Reguilon will be able to increase his value ahead of a possible permanent sale in the summer.
So mistakes like Saturday’s will do Tottenham no favours.
Reguilon is certainly a decent full-back. However, his strength seems to lie in the work he does going forward. He was much better at the Bees when he was trying to make things happen further up the pitch.
Against the Premier League leaders, they didn’t need one of their defenders to make it so easy for the Reds to take the lead.