Jamie Vardy‘s penalty on the stroke of half-time handed Leicester City the lead against Spurs after Serge Aurier had been penalised for a rash challenge on Wesley Fofana.
Leicester’s teenage centre back appeared to be going nowhere as he was facing away from Hugo Lloris’ goal right on the edge of the Spurs penalty area.
However, he went to ground after being bundled into from behind by Aurier who made the kind of impetuous challenge that has often plagued his career in England.
Although referee Craig Pawson initially allowed play to continue, he received instruction from VAR official Paul Tierney to review the incident on his pitch-side monitor, after which he awarded a spot-kick which was duly converted by Vardy for his 11th league goal this season.
Since Aurier’s debut in the Premier League against Swansea City in September 2017, only David Luiz has conceded more penalties in the competition, a duel that the Brazilian is currently winning by five to the Ivorian’s four.
Frustratingly for Aurier, he has generally conceded penalties against direct rivals too, with Leicester following on from Liverpool in 2019 and Manchester City in February. The other team he conceded a penalty against was Brighton back in April 2018.
Aurier has been praised for his performances this season after seemingly raising his game following the summer arrival of Matt Doherty from Wolves but a torrid afternoon ended in him being replaced just past the hour mark by Harry Winks.
Aurier went straight down the tunnel upon his substitution by Jose Mourinho.
At half-time, Roy Keane delivered a typically withering assessment of Aurier’s penalty concession on Sky Sports, describing it as “utter madness”.
“There is a word to describe it: madness!” he said. “I need to be careful what I say about this defender. We’ve been on this road before with him. Utter madness.
“There is no danger, Fofana is not in on goal, Aurier is an experienced player… madness. He wasn’t thinking, this lad doesn’t think.”
Keane’s co-pundit Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was similarly nonplussed by Aurier’s decision to upend Fofana when the odds were stacked against him winning the ball.
“It really was a silly challenge from Aurier. Sissoko loses a ball he cannot lose and then Aurier… I’ve got no words,” Hasselbaink said. “Why in God’s name do you need to do that in the last minute? It’s a rugby tackle!” On the spot kick itself, Hasselbaink added: “You have Vardy who loves these kind of moments. He thrives on the pressure.”
Aurier’s rash moment set the tone for a desperately disappointing afternoon for Spurs as a Toby Alderweireld own goal doubled Leicester’s lead and ultimately gave the visitors a deserved 2-0 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It could have been even worse for the hosts too as James Maddison also had the ball in the net only to be denied a goal by a marginal offside call by VAR.
In Amazon’s All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur documentary released in August prior to the start of the 2020-21 campaign, Mourinho admitted to Aurier that he was “afraid” of him giving away a penalty in the VAR era of Premier League.
“I am afraid of you as a marker. Because you are capable of doing a sh*t penalty with VAR. So I am telling you already, I am afraid of you,” he said to Aurier who sat forlornly in the dressing room.
Unfortunately for Mourinho and for Aurier, that moment proved to be self-fulfilling prophecy.
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from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/38gKkSc
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