Pundits fawn over former Tottenham starlet Marcus Edwards
‘Just a little cameo of his abilities, his touch, his awareness’: Pundits fawn over former Tottenham starlet Marcus Edwards after his goal put Sporting Lisbon in front in their Champions League clash
- Marcus Edwards put Sporting Lisbon ahead in the first half away at Tottenham
- The young Englishman was a Tottenham academy graduate who left in 2019
- He has been impressive in the Champions League for the Portuguese side
Marcus Edwards has received praise from pundits and supporters alike after his superb effort put Sporting Lisbon ahead in their Champions League clash with his former side Tottenham.
The 23-year-old former Spurs academy starlet opened the scoring in the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a wonderful solo effort midway through the first half.
Having lost at the weekend and been under pressure for a few weeks after a string of poor performances, Tottenham struggled to live with the speed and intensity of the Portuguese side and succumbing to the away team’s pressure through their ex-player.
Marcus Edwards opened the scoring at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against his former side
Edwards was let go by Tottenham in 2019 after failing to deliver on his early academy promise and has since rebuilt his career in Portugal.
Speaking on BT Sport at half-time, Owen Hargreaves praised the former youth starlet and said that his touch and awareness had left the Tottenham defenders chasing shadows.
‘Just a little cameo of his abilities, his touch, his awareness, his ability on the pitch,’ Hargreaves said.
‘First of all it’s a fabulous ball from (Sebastian) Coates through the lines, but the touch, that one there (to take it away from Eric Dier) is ridiculous.
The former Tottenham youth starlet returned to haunt Spurs with a superb goal on Wednesday
‘Good composure, good balance, good strike. Obviously (Cristian) Romero needs to come out, but there’s so much to like about this. Look at him checking his shoulder, he sets it round the corner and he’s off.’
Glenn Hoddle, working alongside Hargreaves on Wednesday night, praised the player but left most of his analysis of the goal for criticism of the defending and general performance of Tottenham.
‘Yeah, it’s a lovely little one-two. When he gets into that position, Romero has to go to the ball, and when he goes to the ball Edwards will be forced to play it wide eand Doherty is there,’ he said.
‘For me, Lloris, a little bit deep in his goal. When he hit it, he didn’t hit it fully, he dragged it a bit. That’s what he does, he does it time and time again. He’s a terrific player.’
His goal was well deserved with Sporting having dominated Tottenham for large periods
Hoddle insisted Tottenham had to be quicker to the ball and more intense in the second period, imploring Antonio Conte to play another midfielder to ensure more control in the centre of the park.
‘They have not put a glove on them. They’re at home here, they’ve got to have more intensity, more creation on the ball,’ he said.
‘They’re passing the ball across the back really slow. If you’re going to pass it across the back, zip it across, because the by time you do it slowly the opponents are in a good position.’
Meanwhile, social media was awash with praise for Edwards.
‘Spurs trail to a superb goal from Marcus Edwards. A young English player who is wonderfully talented,’ Gary Lineker wrote.
Others pointed to the inevitability of Edwards scoring on return to Tottenham.
One user noted: ‘The inevitable Marcus Edwards counter attacking goal.’
‘Who is this Edwards guy? He looks good maybe we should buy him!’ another wrote.
‘Such a Spurs goal, s**** defending then a screamer by the youth project we sold,’ added a third.
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