“He’s taken a lot of stick” – Jamie O’Hara believes Tottenham player who ‘let himself down a few times’ in the past impressed against Liverpool
Former Tottenham Hotspur player Jamie O'Hara has praised left wing-back Ryan Sessegnon for his excellent performance away at Liverpool this weekend.
Spurs kept their Premier League top-four hopes alive with a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Anfield on Saturday, 7 May. Sessegnon set up Son Heung-Min for the game’s opening goal.
The 21-year-old has had an indifferent start to life at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since his move from Fulham in 2019. He was shipped out on-loan to Bundesliga side Hoffenheim a year later.
Hey: well done Ryan Sessegnon. He’s had some terrible, terribly luck over the past few years and he played really well this evening. Nice to see his attacking contributions starting to reappear, too.
Sessegnon has made just 12 Premier League appearances this term with injury issues being a major problem throughout his Spurs career so far. However, the Liverpool draw was his third consecutive start with Sergio Reguilon out for the season with an injury.
O'Hara was pleased with the defender's display against the Reds and told Stadium Astro (as per The Boot Room):
“He’s taken a lot of stick, Ryan. In terms of him coming and not being quite good enough, he’s let himself down a few times. I thought he did well (on Saturday). He got the assist for the goal and he’s up against one of the best players in the world in Salah, and he kept him quiet."
Ryan Sessegnon has completely locked up Salah in 180 minutes of football as well by the way. Didn’t even get a sniff.
Tottenham wing-back claims he targeted Trent Alexander-Arnold during Liverpool game
Plenty has been made of Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold's supposed defensive weaknesses this season by fans and pundits alike. Sessegnon made no secret of the fact that his job was to exploit the space often left by the England right-back in their 1-1 draw.
Following the game, the Spurs defender told Stadium Astro (via Rousing The Kop):
“We know from one side of the pitch they close a lot, so the space is on the other side for me. When the ball gets switched over Trent leaves a lot of space on the wide areas and that’s what I tried to do, tried to attack him, tired to get crosses in and thankfully (that’s what happened) for the assist and we scored.”
The sweeping counter-attacking goal was certainly against the run of play. The hosts had 65% possession as well as 22 shots, compared to just eight from the North London outfit. However, both had three shots on target.
Luis Diaz grabbed an equalizer for Jurgen Klopp's men with a deflected strike from outside the penalty area with 16 minutes left.
In truth, a draw did neither side any favors. Liverpool are now three points behind leaders Manchester City in the Premier League table. Meanwhile, Champions League qualification is now out of Tottenham's hands as they find themselves four points off fourth-placed Arsenal.
Arsenal will return to the Champions League with a win at Tottenham on Thursday 🤩 https://t.co/CvEnQHOatG