Carragher hails one ‘absolutely sensational’ Tottenham star in enthralling Chelsea clash; Postecoglou ‘almost genius’
Premier League pundit Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher has labelled Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario ‘absolutely sensational’ and a ‘revelation’ for the club after he performed the sweeper keeper role brilliantly in the defeat to Chelsea on Monday night.
In an incredible game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Chelsea ran out 4-1 winners but Postecoglou’s side emerged with arguably more credit. There were five goals, two red cards, several VAR calls and five disallowed goals in an all-time great Premier League encounter.
Dejan Kulusevski gave the hosts the lead early on when his left-footed effort hit Levi Colwill and wrong-footed Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez. Destiny Udogie then picked up a yellow card for a bad challenge on Raheem Sterling, though VAR did check it for a possible red.
Moises Caicedo had a goal ruled out for offside, which saw VAR go back and give Chelsea a penalty for a shocking Cristian Romero challenge on Argentina team-mate Enzo Fernandez beforehand. Romero was dismissed and Cole Palmer managed to sneak the spot-kick past Vicario, putting Chelsea level.
There was more drama to be had though as Udogie then joined Romero in being sent off, picking up a second yellow for a late tackle on Sterling. Despite having just nine men, Postecoglou told his Tottenham players to keep an incredibly high line. They managed to stay in the game for a while, though Nicolas Jackson eventually picked them off by getting in behind on numerous occasions and notching a hat-trick.
But things could have been far different for Spurs if either Rodrigo Bentancur or Son Heung-min had taken their great chances, while Eric Dier also had a stunning first-time volley ruled out by VAR. Spurs may have had their unbeaten league run ended, but they will have impressed fans with their fight after having two players sent off.
During an appearance on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football (06/11, at 22:28), Carragher said the high line was ‘almost genius’ from Postecoglou, while he also heaped praise on shot-stopper Vicario for racing out of his box and saving Spurs several times.
“The thing about Tottenham with the high line, I just thought it would be inevitable that Chelsea would go on and score lots of goals – they did, but it came really late,” the pundit said. “You think of those chances they had for Bentancur and Son late on, this could have been a completely different game. It would’ve been a dark night for Chelsea if they’d have drawn.”
Carragher ‘has never seen anything like’ Vicario performance
Carragher added: “We were probably all watching it thinking, ‘this is mad’. But it was almost genius! Yes the goals came from that [the high line], but Tottenham kept themselves in the game for so long.
“The goalkeeper was absolutely sensational. You talk about a sweeper keeper, I’ve never seen anything like that.
“He’s been an absolute revelation since he came to Tottenham, the goalkeeper. You couldn’t help it, you were almost willing Tottenham on with nine men to try and hang on and nick something at the end. It would’ve been bizarre.”
Meanwhile, Postecoglou has ordered Spurs to sign two players this winter, according to reports.
