da aviator aposta: This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.
da bet sport: Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks was remarkably lucky to get through 70 minutes against Manchester United on Wednesday night.
Snapshot
Spurs lost 2-1 to the Red Devils at Old Trafford.
Jose Mourinho started the game with Moussa Sissoko and Winks in midfield but the England international struggled to stamp his authority on the game.
Indeed, his most telling contribution came after 13 minutes as he slid into Daniel James, inadvertently sending the Welshman into Mourinho on the sideline and earning a yellow card for his trouble.
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Per WhoScored, the 23-year-old touched the ball 50 times throughout his time on the pitch and clocked up a pass accuracy of 92%, though he did not manage to lay on a key pass and he completed just one dribble, while failing to have a shot on goal.
Winks did make two tackles but he did not register an interception and, with Sissoko forced to babysit Serge Aurier throughout the game, he was unable to hold down the fort on his own in central midfield.
Off the bench
The obvious substitution should have been made at half-time, with Tanguy Ndombele brought on in Winks’ place.
Ndombele completed as many dribbles as the Englishman in 20 minutes and also managed a shot on goal which was well-saved by David de Gea.
Throughout this season, the France international has shown himself to be a dynamic presence both on and off the ball.
He has scored two goals, averaged 1.8 tackles per game, 0.8 interceptions, 0.7 key passes, while also registering one assist, per WhoScored.
He is a more rounded midfielder than Winks and one has to feel that he wouldn’t have looked so overawed in the centre of the pitch when Sissoko drifted wide.
Mourinho made headlines against Olympiacos when he substituted Eric Dier early on to bring on Christian Eriksen but it ultimately won Spurs the game.
He should have done similar here, sacrificing Winks to bring on Ndombele and wrestle back some control for his team.
As it was, they were hopelessly outfought in midfield.
Meanwhile, another Spurs ace struggled against United.