Mathys Tel took center stage for Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday afternoon at Stamford Bridge, creating chances, successfully taking defenders on, and, most importantly, scoring. It was Tel who sealed the game at 2-0 in the 87th minute with an outrageous run from the left side, around the halfway line, to the middle of the pitch where he unleashed an absolute scorcher to the bottom left corner past Mike Penders.
It was a moment of brilliance from a player who had a couple of those moments last season and even in the preseason, though in his previous matches this season, Tel had come nowhere close to replicating them.
And that has been the book on Tel throughout his tenures at both Bayern Munich and now Tottenham. There are pieces of a player who will become world class, but because he cannot put anything together consistently, top teams have a tough time justifying starting him.
After what he did to Chelsea in exorcising Tottenham Hotspur's demons at that venue, Tel looks almost certain to start the next rivalry game against Crystal Palace, especially with star man Savio still on the mend from a recent injury.
What Mathys Tel has to do is realize that the goal was not a fluke and not an accident. Not only did that goal show everyone what Tel is capable of, it also showed something important to himself. And that is the more direct Tel plays, the better off both he and Tottenham are as a football team.
Tel's worst performances this season were not all awful individually, even if the end result for Spurs was objectionable. He was one of the best in the Premier League at taking his man on. But what would happen is he would beat two or three guys, then run it out of bounds or into the corner where he would lose the ball.
Less is more, especially for an inverted forward. Tel is going to do his best work for Tottenham if he realizes that he should only be trying to beat one, maximum two, guys at a time. If there's nothing there, just get rid of the ball to a teammate, and try to get open so he can find you for a better play. And if there is a way to get inside the pitch or green grass in an area where you can get a shot off, take it. If Tel sees what direct play did for him both creatively and as a scorer against Chelsea then locks in next weekend, we could be seeing the beginnings of his breakout.
This article was originally published on www.hotspurhq.com as Mathys Tel's Chelsea moment has to unlock a crucial realization .
