Carragher names Tottenham ‘difference maker’ who can keep them up as De Zerbi rages at ‘200%’ penalty oversight | OneFootball

Jamie Carragher has namedropped the Tottenham Hotspur star he thinks can help push them over the line towards Premier League safety following their 1-1 draw with Leeds, in a match that left Spurs manager Roberto De Zerbi absolutely spitting feathers at referee Jarred Gillett for missing what he claims was a “200% penalty”.

Starting the match a point clear of West Ham in 17th, Tottenham knew a win would put them within touching distance of Premier League survival after the most painful of seasons at N17.

And while they took the lead through an excellent Mathys Tel strike early in the second half, they could not hold on to their lead as the same player caught Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu in the head to earn the visitors a penalty, which Dominic Calvert-Lewin expertly dispatched.

Despite being the central figure in both goals, Carragher is adamant that keeping Tel doing what he does best will be key to keeping Spurs among the elite, with games against Chelsea (away) and Everton (home) still to come.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the draw widened the gap on West Ham to two points, Carragher said on the penalty concession:  “It’s just a crazy decision from Tel. What you think sometimes is we’ve been there as players where you don’t see the opposition player coming in.

“But he’s about to make his decision and he sees him, he looks. So he’s made his decision, but as soon as he knows there’s someone there, it has to change.

“He still has time, he’s got to change his mind. I thought he hadn’t seen him initially, but he has. It’s a really, really poor decision.

“We’re talking about a young attacking player, making two ridiculous decisions in this game.”

Despite that, Carragher added: “De Zerbi will be furious – but he’s got to remember he’s a young attacking player who has actually made a massive difference to Spurs right now.

“He came off the bench at Wolves, got the corner and the winning goal. He set up the second goal at Villa, and he scored the goal tonight.

“He needs him, because they haven’t got players with injuries but there’s a player there. We’ve seen that in the last couple of games.

“You’d be going nuts, but the good at the other end – everything we showed that was good from Spurs in the first half, and then he scored the goal in the second half.

“That’s the art of management, and De Zerbi knows that a lot better than me.”

De Zerbi rages as referee fails to award penalty for foul on Maddison

In a match that ebbed and flowed, both sides felt harshly done by for failing to be awarded other penalties of their own; Leeds during the first half when Calvert-Lewin was deemed offside after being pulled back by Destiny Udogie; then, in the closing moments when Lukas Nmecha was deemed to have got the feintest of touches on the ball as James Maddison tumbled over his outstretched leg in the box.

That second decision absolutely enraged De Zerbi, who claims the officials were “feeling the pressure” after a similar controversy in the West Ham v Arsenal game a day earlier.

When asked about the decision-making, De Zerbi moaned: “I think they were not calm today, maybe they suffered the pressure of yesterday’s Arsenal game.

“For sure we suffered the pressure today. We didn’t play with passion with the ball, too frenetic but also the referee was not calm today.

“I can’t understand the polemic about yesterday’s VAR because it was 200 per cent a foul, not 100 per cent, 200 per cent.”

Despite the anger, Spurs might on Tuesday be reflecting on a solid point against a Leeds side who did not make it easy, despite having their own safety confirmed by West Ham’s loss just a day earlier.

But for an unreal save by Antonin Kinsky – who is enjoying a real redemption arc these past few weeks – Spurs would have been staring down the barrel of a painful loss.

As it was, a point moves them two clear of West Ham – effectively three when factoring in goal difference – and they now face two more pressure games to decide their destiny.

Predicting which of the pair will go, Alan Shearer has also had his say and feels there is a very definite loser between the two London rivals.