Tottenham Hotspur’s penultimate game of the Premier League season ended in defeat, losing 2-0 at home to Manchester City.
This was always going to be one of the strangest atmospheres of any Tottenham game.
Spurs still had an outside chance of Champions League qualification after Aston Villa’s draw against Liverpool on Monday.
Yet many fans actually wanted Spurs to lose, leaving the title in Manchester City hands rather than Arsenal’s.
Tottenham did turn in a decent display and had more than enough chances to score but fell to two Erling Haaland goals.
The top four has gone and Tottenham now have nothing but a dead rubber left to play, travelling to take on Sheffield United this weekend.
Jamie Carragher on Micky van de Ven
Ange Postecoglou may not be too happy with the mentally of almost wanting Spurs to lose but the performance must have encouraged him.
The Australian went with Micky van de Ven as a left back back, allowing for Radu Dragusin to come in at centre back.
Van de Ven had his ups and downs in a rather unfamiliar role, at least in a Tottenham shirt, but showed that he can play there if needed.
Signed from Wolfsburg last summer, Van de Ven has enjoyed a superb first season in the Premier League and would deserve being named Tottenham’s Player of the Year.
Jamie Carragher didn’t name Van de Ven in his Team of the Season, instead going with three centre backs – Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk alongside Arsenal duo William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.
Carragher stated on Sky Sports coverage (14/05, 8:05pm) that he was actually collared by two Tottenham fans on his way into the stadium on Tuesday night.
Those Tottenham fans were quizzing Carragher on why he left Van de Ven out of this team, showing just how much Spurs supporters love him.
“Well, after picking our Team of the Season last night, I was pulled by two Tottenham supporters on the way in, asking why I didn’t pick Van de Ven, so it shows how highly he’s rated, certainly by the Tottenham supporters,” said Carragher.
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Van de Ven can reach that level
Even Bundesliga fans are surely stunned by Van de Ven’s rise.
The 6ft 4in defender was always a promising talent at Wolfsburg but wasn’t really one of the absolute top performers last season.
Tottenham saw that potential and brought him to the Premier League, where Van de Ven has just gone from strength to strength.
Van de Ven has been outstanding but maybe needs a little more development before reaching that top level of Premier League centre backs.
Van Dijk has been at the top for a long time now and has been strong this season whilst Saliba and Gabriel unfortunately have an exceptional partnership.
Cristian Romero and Van de Ven both have the potential to reach that level and, hopefully, the pair can develop into the best Premier League centre back pairing in the coming years.
A Team of the Season nomination was maybe too early for Van de Ven this season, but don’t be surprised to see him there in the near future.
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