In the trenches of the on-pitch war between Tottenham and Chelsea, two Italians – Guglielmo Vicario and Destiny Udogie – found themselves front and centre of the battle, Apollo Heyes writes.
London derbies between the Lilywhites and the Blues are always a tense and dramatic affair. Last year, we had the fiery 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge, a match which ended with the incredibly venomous handshake between coaches Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel.
This season served up more drama, and again there was a distinct Italian flavour to proceedings thanks to Spurs duo Vicario and Udogie. The pair have both played crucial roles in Ange Postecoglou’s high-flying team this term, but one handled the clash with Chelsea far better than the other.
Praising the goalkeeper of a team that lost 4-1 seems both baffling and annoyingly contradictory, but this was no ordinary match. Vicario was a man of a mission in Tottenham’s defeat to Chelsea, doing everything he could to try and protect his net in North London.
The 27-year-old shot stopper was a reference point for his Spurs teammates on the pitch, especially as things started to crumble, looking confident and determined every time he charged off his line to stop the danger.
His smart positioning and three saves kept a nine-man Tottenham in the game far longer than they had any right to, and Chelsea’s goals in the latter stages of the second half cannot be blamed on the man between the sticks.
Whilst Vicario had a heroic display in front of 60,000 fans at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, it was a different story for Udogie, a player who crumbled under the pressure and ultimately condemned his team to defeat.
It didn’t take long for the 20-year-old Italian left back to feel the heat on the pitch. In the 18th minute of the match, with his side 1-0 up, Udogie dangerously flew into a two-footed tackle whilst trying to dispossess Rahim Sterling, who was lucky to see the challenge early and avoid a possible injury.
The Spurs full back was shockingly lucky to only receive a booking – another Premier League VAR masterclass – and it was an early sign of his volatility amidst the battle with Chelsea, who weren’t willing to go down without a fight.
Only 10 minutes into the second half, Udogie would finally crumble under the pressure and receive the red card he really should’ve received earlier in the evening. Trying to stop a counterattack, the 20-year-old flicked away the ball before launching into a tackle that completely demolished Sterling, earning him his second yellow card of the night.
Udogie’s final challenge was one that perfectly signposted his immaturity. Already on a yellow and with Tottenham down to 10 men, his decision to try the risky and ultimately poor slide tackle is a reminder of his age and quick step-up from Udinese.
The full back’s moment of madness ultimately condemned his compatriot Vicario, who really had no chance of protecting his goal considering the eight teammates in front of him were still forced to play with an incredibly high line.
On an evening when one Italian further enamoured himself to the Tottenham fans, the other now needs to redeem himself after serving his spell on the sidelines.