Tottenham Hotspur were today looking to build on a superb result from last weekend, but instead were brought crashing back down to earth as they were hammered by Leicester City.
Such is the unpredictability of the Premier League, the Lilywhites got the better of defending champions Manchester City last weekend, only to lose handsomely to a Foxes side still not safe from a relegation battle.
It was a performance every bit as dreadful as a 4-1 scoreline would suggest, as Cristian Stellini was once again forced to deputise in the continued absence of Antonio Conte. His toothless side were played off the park, and only goalscorer Rodrigo Bentancur arguably left the field with any credit despite suffering what seemed like a nasty injury.
There was also a club debut handed to the expensively-acquired Pedro Porro, but given the final score, one can imagine how that went down. He was given a torrid welcome to his Spurs career, one which might leave him wondering whether he should have simply remained with Sporting Lisbon.
How did Pedro Porro play against Leicester?
The 23-year-old was signed to provide an attacking thrust along the right flank, occupying Conte’s wing-back role for the foreseeable future. However, in a game where the teams shared 50% each of the ball, Porro was unable to utilise it in a way which could positively affect matters.
There was little glimpse of the defender who had recorded 14 goal contributions this season for Sporting, as he didn’t manage a single key pass, was successful in just two of his five attempted dribbles and lost the ball 13 times with his 47 touches (via Sofascore).
Porro was wasteful in his excursions forward and clearly did not look up to speed on his first Premier League appearance.
If you cannot offer much offensively, you could atone for it with defensive solidity. Unfortunately for him and Tottenham, he didn’t manage that either.
Porro was brutally exposed for his positional weaknesses, and despite making one tackle and two interceptions against Leicester, he lost six of his 13 duels.
During one moment of madness, in which Harvey Barnes thought he had scored Leicester’s fourth goal before it was ruled out for offside, Tim Sherwood was apoplectic in his scorn for him as he branded the recent signing “so bad it’s unbelievable” and someone who “can’t defend” during Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday.
It truly was a baptism of fire for the youngster, who still has much to learn. His career could still be a bright one, but he must learn from today’s horrendous display which saw Spurs slip up in their pursuit of a top-four finish.