Ange Postecoglou says Micky van de Ven absence wasn’t reason for Tottenham’s loss vs Fulham
Ange Postecoglou says it was not Micky van de Ven’s absence that cost Tottenham the Fulham game
In the absence of Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Muniz proved to be a nightmare at Craven Cottage as Tottenham Hotspur lost 3-0 to Fulham. Spurs defeated top-four rivals Aston Villa 4-0, so they entered the match with a lot of confidence. However, it didn’t take long for the happy faces to turn green.
Rodrigo Muniz’s brace and Sasa Lukic’s opening goal for the hosts meant that Tottenham were down and out in what may have been Ange Postecoglou’s worst performance for the team. Fulham dominated the game for the majority of the play.
The loss is accompanied by a face that is absent; Radu Dragusin made his first start for the team since joining from Genoa in a £26.7 million (€31 million) transfer to North London after Bayern Munich made a last-ditch effort to sabotage a move to Allianz Arena. He took Micky van de Ven’s place in defense as the Dutchman continued to struggle with hamstring issues throughout the season.
Due to hamstring issues, Micky van de Ven has now missed twelve games for Tottenham this season.
Even if Radu didn’t appear as strong, it was worth considering whether the 22-year-old Holland international’s absence from the defense’s core contributed to the defeat.
After the game, Ange Postecoglou, the manager of Tottenham, was asked if the team missed Micky van de Ven. The Australian manager responded as follows in an interview with BBC Match of the Day:
We did not perform today for that reason. We didn’t perform today for no cause other than Micky van de Ven.
In terms of his contribution to the team, Micky is a huge loss for Tottenham. If he doesn’t put in his best effort for Spurs, there will be a slight drop in quality, but this was a game where the starting lineup was absent. You can’t exactly blame it for the performance, even though it might have had an impact.