Ange Postecoglou defends player after been called out by pundits for poor performance
Ange Postecoglou defends Richarlison as Tottenham lose 4-2 to Barcelona in their final pre-season fixture – after striker failed to impress while deputising for Harry Kane amid reports of a FOURTH Bayern Munich bid
Richarlison, the Harry Kane replacement who had a difficult night scoring in Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to Barcelona, received plaudits from Ange Postecoglou.
Despite Oliver Skipp scoring twice, the Premier League team lost their final preseason game to late goals from Ansu Fati and Abde Ezzalzouli.
But after a disappointing performance, Richarlison, who filled in for the in demand Kane, attracted the most attention. Nevertheless, Postecoglou jumped to the Brazilian’s defense and said that his performance might have been hindered by injury-related rust.
‘He’s had a bit of a knock and missed a few days training,’ the Spurs boss said after the game. ‘But he works so hard for the team and he was a bit unlucky with a couple of his chances.’
The former Everton man picked possibly the worst moment to fluff his lines as Tottenham’s talisman Kane continues to be at the centre of a long drawn out tug-of-war.
Spurs were prepared for their matchup with Spain when news broke that Bayern Munich would resume talks after having their third offer for the England captain rejected.
In light of Kane’s desire to put an end to the uncertainty surrounding his future before the start of the new season on Sunday, the German champions are apparently prepared to make an offer of £94.6 million.
Postecoglou, who transferred from Celtic to the London club in the summer, reaffirmed his desire to concentrate on preseason preparations and ignore the commotion surrounding Bayern’s pursuit of their star striker.
‘That’s for the club and for the players involved,’ he added on what the end of the transfer window could bring. ‘That’s not my focus. I give my advice and opinion but they’re the ones who are going to be driving it.’
