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Report: £16.5m Tottenham Hotspur player looked absolutely exhausted when full-time whistle went vs Newcastle yesterday

Ben Evans

Mon 24 October 2022 18:15, UK

Tottenham Hotspur couldn’t return to winning ways against Newcastle United yesterday, and fell to another disappointing defeat.

Spurs were missing a number of key players, and their replacements failed to step up against a rampant Newcastle side.

One man who came out of the match with some credit was Rodrigo Bentancur.

is one of the first names on Antonio Conte’s team sheet right now.

In the absence of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Bentancur had to step up and lead Tottenham’s midfield.

The Uruguayan was everywhere on the pitch, , made more tackles and interceptions than anyone else.

Bentancur and Oliver Skipp, in his first start this season, were tasked with pressing Newcastle relentlessly.

Although Skipp was brought off after 70 minutes, Bentancur had to play the entire match.

Given his importance and Hojbjerg’s absence, the 25-year-old will have to recover quickly for Tottenham’s Champions League tie against Sporting on Wednesday.

Bentancur was exhausted yesterday at full-time

Despite Bentancur’s importance to Conte, they showed they’re not keen to hide their feelings from each other.

The pair were seen screaming at each other during the match against Manchester United last week.

The balance of Tottenham’s midfield didn’t look right yesterday with three primarily defensive minded players in the middle of the pitch.

Despite this, they were unable to prevent Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton causing havoc, and Sean Longstaff’s passing also caused issues.

Conte will want Hojbjerg back soon, but the return of Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison is now arguably more important.

Bencantur looking absolutely exhausted yesterday may be a worry in the run up to the World Cup.

Conte may have to rest the Uruguayan soon, or risk losing another key player to injury.