{"id":239331,"date":"2026-04-19T19:40:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T19:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/19\/ohara-gave-spurs-star-a-2-10-last-week-now-he-looks-like-mousa-dembele\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T19:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T19:40:12","slug":"ohara-gave-spurs-star-a-2-10-last-week-now-he-looks-like-mousa-dembele","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/19\/ohara-gave-spurs-star-a-2-10-last-week-now-he-looks-like-mousa-dembele\/","title":{"rendered":"O’Hara gave Spurs star a 2\/10 last week, now he looks like Mousa Dembele"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Tottenham Hotspur<\/a> central defender Kevin Danso will be kicking himself after his error cost his side the win against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Austria international took a touch in the box, instead of immediately clearing the ball, and lost possession, which directly led to Georginio Rutter’s late equaliser.<\/p>\n

That result means that Spurs remain in the bottom three in the Premier League<\/a> heading into the last five matches of the 2025\/26 campaign.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Despite the end result being a negative and frustrating one for the Lilywhites, drawing at home, there were positives for Roberto De Zerbi<\/a> to take from the match.<\/p>\n

The performance by the home team was far superior to the one that was put on display against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in his first game in charge.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n How Spurs improved from Sunderland to Brighton<\/strong>
\n <\/h2>\n

In De Zerbi’s first game against the Black Cats, Spurs lost 1-0 and created less than 1 xG (0.82) across the 90 minutes on Wearside, taking just 11 shots.<\/p>\n

They also allowed Sunderland to create 1.33 xG worth of chances against them, as the defence struggled to deal with Brian Brobbey, but they restricted Brighton to 0.82 xG. Unfortunately, the Seagulls were incredibly clinical.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Stat<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

Vs Sunderland<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

Vs Brighton<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n

\n

xG<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0.84<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1.33<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Big chances created<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

3<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Corners<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

6<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

7<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Goals scored<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

xG conceded<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1.33<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0.82<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

De Zerbi’s in possession style of play was more evident in the draw with Brighton as the team looked to build out from the back to create chances with football played on the floor, rather than hopeful punts up the pitch.<\/p>\n

Xavi Simons scored a brilliant goal to put Spurs 2-1 up in the game and deserves credit for his impact for the Lilywhites, but he was far from the only player who helped make a difference from the defeat to Sunderland to the clash on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Several Spurs players played a key role in the team’s big improvement in performance from the loss to Sunderland to the draw with Brighton, which bodes well ahead of the remaining five matches.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Tottenham may have unearthed their new Mousa Dembele<\/strong>
\n <\/h2>\n

After struggling at the Stadium of Light and being criticised for his performance, one Tottenham star is now emerging as De Zerbi’s own version of Mousa Dembele, who was a powerful dribbler and workhorse during his time at the club.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \"Mousa\n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

After the loss to Sunderland, pundit and former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara went to X to hand Conor Gallagher a 2\/10 rating<\/a> for his performance in the middle of the park.<\/p>\n

The England international lost four of his seven duels, committing two fouls, and did not create any ‘big chances’ for his teammates in that loss to the Black Cats, which shows that he was too weak off the ball and did not do much with the ball at his feet to make up for it.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Gallagher<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

Vs Sunderland<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

Vs Brighton<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n

\n

Minutes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

85<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

76<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Pass accuracy<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

87%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

88%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Big chances created<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Dribbles completed<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1\/2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

3\/3<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Ground duels won<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

2\/5<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

5\/6<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Aerial duels won<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1\/2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

2\/3<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

Gallagher, signed from Atletico Madrid for \u00a334m<\/a> in January, bounced back from that disappointing performance against Sunderland to look like the new Dembele for Spurs in midfield against Brighton.<\/p>\n

His work on the ball was much improved in comparison to the previous weekend, as evidenced by his three completed dribbles and ‘big chance’ created. Dembele was famous for his ability to dribble past opposition players during his time at the club, and Gallagher is looking to follow in his footsteps.<\/p>\n

It may not have been the result that Spurs wanted, as they failed to claim all three points, but seeing players like Gallagher and Xavi produce impressive performances should give supporters hope that all is not lost.<\/p>\n

The English central midfielder looked right up for the battle against Brighton, winning seven of his nine duels, and came close to scoring by closing down the opposition goalkeeper, Bart Verbruggen.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \"Gallagher-Spurs\"\n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Gallagher has not hit the ground running in North London after arriving in the winter, but he joined in difficult circumstances amidst poor team form and several managerial changes.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, the former Chelsea star can hit some form under De Zerbi and play a crucial role in keeping Spurs in the Premier League in the remaining five matches of this season.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old talent’s performance against Brighton shows that he can be a Dembele-like operator in the middle of the park for Spurs, and De Zerbi needs him to maintain that level for the rest of the campaign to get the team over the line.<\/p>\n

\n\"Tottenham's\n <\/picture>\n

\n
\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\t\u00a315m Spurs star looks as finished as Kolo Muani after Brighton
\n\t\t<\/a>
\n\t<\/h5>\n

Tottenham need to make sweeping summer changes – even if they avoid relegation from the Premier League. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tottenham Hotspur central defender Kevin Danso will be kicking himself after his error cost his side the win against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday evening. The Austria international took a touch in the box, instead of immediately clearing the ball, and lost possession, which directly led to Georginio Rutter’s late equaliser. That result means […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":239332,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6808],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-239331","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}