Gary Neville delivers his verdict on Dominic Solanke’s debut for Tottenham vs Leicester

 

Tottenham started the match with confidence, taking control against Leicester City on their home turf and opening the scoring in the 29th minute.

James Maddison delivered a perfectly placed cross that allowed Pedro Porro to slip through and head in a well-deserved goal for Spurs.

Despite dominating the first half, Tottenham failed to extend their lead, and this ultimately cost them.

Shortly before the hour mark, Abdul Fatawu lofted a ball to the back post, where an unmarked Jamie Vardy calmly headed home to level the score.

Despite the disappointing result, there were positives for Tottenham, particularly in Dominic Solanke’s debut performance.

Spurs broke their transfer record to sign the England international from Bournemouth in August, and he showcased his abilities with impressive movement, pressing, and hold-up play, challenging the Leicester goalkeeper on multiple occasions.

Although the 26-year-old didn’t score on his debut, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville praised his overall performance.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Neville offered some advice to the new Spurs signing.

“I think he will feel like everything went as well as it could have, apart from the most important thing—the goal,” he said.

“I hope he doesn’t dwell too much on the missed chance. His pressing is crucial to Spurs and a key reason why they signed him.”

Neville added, “Solanke is facing a test because there will be murmurs about him not finishing his chances. He had his moments, much like Richarlison at the end, but overall, I thought he played well. However, he will be judged on moments like this, where he had two or three decent opportunities.

“He needs to avoid being too hard on himself in the coming days. I’d like to think he focuses on the positives because he had a really good game aside from the crucial moments. If he continues to play like that, the goals will come.”

According to Sofascore, Solanke recorded an expected goals (xG) of 0.34 and an expected assists (xA) of 0.15.

He had three shots on target, completed three dribbles, took 35 touches, successfully made 15 of 19 passes, and created one key pass.

The Spurs forward also won seven of his eight ground duels and one of his two aerial duels, in addition to making two tackles.




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