Christian Eriksen turned in a poor display as Tottenham Hotspur drew 1-1 with Middlesbrough in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.
On the chalkboard
In a game that many would have seen as a potential opportunity for Jose Mourinho to rest players, he named a strong starting XI.
Eriksen was one such player who was included from the start but his impact was muted at best.
Per WhoScored, he had 98 touches of the ball throughout the 90 minutes, more than any other player on the pitch.
He had three shots on goal, with only one on target, and while he laid on two key passes, this was a performance characterised by sloppiness from the Denmark international.
Eriksen completed one dribble but was dispossessed twice and had an absolutely terrible corner success rate. He took 12 corners throughout the game but a mere 8% were successful.
One free-kick saw the entire Spurs defence surge forward into the Boro box, only for him to weakly send the ball through to the opposition goalkeeper without it ever lifting off the ground.
Eriksen also failed to win a tackle and was dribbled past once in midfield.
The big fat Tottenham quiz of 2019 – how much do you remember about the last year at Spurs?
Not an elite talent
He can’t even perform against Championship opposition.
In a week dominated by rumours of a move to Inter Milan, this will have brought Eriksen right back down to Earth.
He could not raise his game against a team from the second-tier and yet he wonders why there were no bids for him in the summer.
It is a complicated situation for manager Jose Mourinho; Eriksen is clearly talented and has been integral to this Spurs team in recent years.
But on Sunday, he did very little well and did not strengthen his case for inclusion in this starting XI.
He has started just twice in the league under the Portuguese, against Norwich and Southampton, and Spurs didn’t win either game.
A spell out of the team, one has to feel, might be best for all involved, even if it is just so Mourinho can explore other options, and keep Eriksen fit for his potential move.
Meanwhile, Spurs fans have slammed one man for his FA Cup display.
