Radu Dragusin starred in Tottenham’s 1-0 win over Liverpool in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semis
Tottenham Hotspur will take a lead to Anfield next month as they look to advance to the Carabao Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
Spurs beat Liverpool 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday evening, courtesy of a second-half strike from Lucas Bergvall. Dominic Solanke held Ibrahima Konate off after being played in by Pedro Porro and found Bergvall inside the box, who took his goal in emphatic fashion—his first for the club—to give the hosts an advantage heading into the second leg at Anfield in February.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool could not muster many chances to punish the North Londoners, who came into the match with 10 first-team players missing through injuries and suspensions. Apart from Bergvall’s goal, there were several top performers for Tottenham on the night. Radu Dragusin certainly was one of those.
Radu Dragusin, who was subbed off at half-time against Newcastle United last weekend due to a sickness bug, has come in for criticism for his performances this season. In the injury absences of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies, the Romanian has been the only centre-back fit at Ange Postecoglou’s disposal.
He has been paired with young midfielder Archie Gray in central defence in recent weeks, and while Gray has done admirably well in an unfamiliar position, Dragusin’s displays have left a lot to be desired. However, it wasn’t to be on Wednesday as Dragusin arguably put his best performance in a Tottenham shirt.
The 22-year-old was a pillar at the back, keeping Diogo Jota at bay first before neutralizing substitute Darwin Nunez. He had a very good early chance inside the opposition area, which was kept out by goalkeeper Alisson Becker. The Romanian international had 65 touches, consistently involving himself in Spurs’ attacking transitions and defensive setups. The centre-back’s passing accuracy of 88% reflected his intent to play progressive balls to utilise the possessional advantage his team enjoyed.
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In the defensive phase, Dragusin won one aerial duel, made four clearances and blocked two shots. He made a crucial goal-line clearance from substitute Trent Alexander-Arnold at 0-0 to cap off a fantastic night, and minutes later Bergvall, who was lucky to escape a second yellow, scored the winner for the home side. (Stats courtesy: SofaScore)
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Dragusin gave a good account of himself and showed his ability to lead by an example against Liverpool, especially during challenging spells. This should give the towering centre-half a lot of confidence ahead of the Lilywhites’ crucial games in various competitions.