Tottenham fans could well be talking about four successive Premier League wins had Wilson Odobert managed to convert Pedro Porro’s cross at the beginning of the second half against Manchester City. Trailing 1-0 at home to the reigning Premier League champions and perhaps lucky to just be the one goal behind going on the chances Pep Guardiola’s team created in the first half, Spurs were so much better after the break.
Tottenham looked a totally different side come the second half and Odobert was a matter of inches away from finishing off Porro’s delivery to the far post. It was such an inviting cross but the French youngster just couldn’t get enough contact on the ball to guide it into Ederson’s goal. Had he done so, the game may well have swung in Tottenham’s favour.
Having started brightly and troubled City with an early foray forward, Odobert, on his first start for Tottenham since his outing at Coventry City in September, really turned it on after the break. Just as Jeremy Doku had done down that side of the pitch in the opening 45 minutes, the summer addition, who signed in a deal worth an initial £25million plus another potential £5million in add-ons, was starting to have a big influence for Tottenham with some driving runs.
Unlucky with that chance that narrowly went wide of the target, he would later have another one that took a big deflection up in the air and dropped wide of the post for a corner following a strong run. Only seeing glimpses of the player’s quality this season following an injury-hit campaign, Odobert’s second-half display was a sign of what could potentially come between now and May as Tottenham target a strong end to the season.
In terms of his numbers from the game (via FotMob), the ex-Burnley man had one shot on target, eight touches in the opposition box, two successful dribbles from a possible four and two passes into the final third. He also registered a pass completion rate of 76 per cent with 19 of his 25 passes finding their intended target.
Speaking after the game, Ange Postecoglou praised the Meaux-born player and stated that he was “a big catalyst” for their promising start to the second half.
“I thought he was great,” admitted the 59-year-old. “It was important tonight that him, Destiny and Brennan got some minutes. Again, it’s one thing to get guys back from injury but we have got to get them up to speed as quick as we possibly can.
“You could see Wilson hasn’t played for a while but you could also see the quality that he has. I think he grew into the game in the second half. I thought he was a big catalyst at the beginning of the second half when he was running at the opposition.
“He is an exciting player and if we can manage him through this period and get him to a really decent level of fitness, I’m sure he will help us finish the season strong.”
Following such a bright showing, the sight of Odobert leaving the field as one of four Tottenham substitutions was perhaps a disappointment to Spurs fans going on the issues he was causing City. However, Postecoglou and his coaching staff would not have wanted to push him too much in what was only his third game since returning from a hamstring injury.
After all, he got three minutes against Manchester United, 16 away at Ipswich and the 67 he played in the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City was already a big jump after so little football this campaign. Odobert will now have an opportunity to rest up before Tottenham go again next Thursday when they take on AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League round of 16.
Sustaining an injury in the closing minutes of league phase fixture against the Dutch side at the end of October that would sideline him for almost four months, Odobert will be hoping to have an even bigger impact if handed another start at the AFAS Stadion next Thursday. Hopefully his exciting showing against Manchester City is only the start of things to come from the talented winger.
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