The word ‘underrated’ is often thrown around in football, but it can truly be said of one Tottenham Hotspur player after the Aston Villa win today.
Ange Postecoglou’s side produced an excellent display to secure a vital three points against Villa, who they will now believe they can pip to fourth.
It wasn’t all plain sailing by any means for Spurs, who did have to ride some early pressure on the break, even if they dominated the ball for most of the game.
Spurs were only too glad to oblige Villa when John McGinn displayed an uncommon display of lack of discipline, which actually didn’t look good.
Even though Son Heung-min was the one to take the sword to Villa in the closing moments, it was Papa Matar Sarr who sealed the 0-0 victory.
Sarr ran the ball brilliantly off the ball to set himself up to help James Maddison, and he then executed the ball flawlessly.
Prior to the match, it was unclear who would partner Yves Bissouma in the middle: Sarr, Rodrigo Bentancur, or possibly Dejan Kulusevski.
And there shouldn’t be any more discussion given how dominant he was today.
Pape Matar Sarr proved how underrated he is for Tottenham against Villa today
Sarr offers Tottenham something in the middle of the pitch that no other of their midfielders do, runs in behind.
If we look back to the Brighton & Hove Albion game last month, Sarr produced a similar run to score his goal.
And whilst the likes of Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur have some exceptional attributes themselves, they simply can’t do the same.
Sarr provides excellent balance when playing alongside the likes of Bissouma, and the duo compliment each other so well.
Sarr, who was signed for £15 million back in 2022, is showing to be a fantastic value for Tottenham and has the potential to be a mainstay of the Postecoglou era.
Against Villa today, the Tottenham midfielder demonstrated how underappreciated he still is; when healthy, he ought to start.
Postecoglou has too many choices not to chop and replace his team.
But Sarr will be there, just like he was against Villa today, for the big moments and big games.
Having said that, prior to the game, Sarr was praising the caliber of his Spurs teammate who works behind the scenes.
