Tottenham Hotspur’s frustrating inconsistency reared its ugly head once again when they found themselves on the wrong end of a nine-goal thriller at home to Liverpool over the weekend.
Spurs hosted the table toppers, hoping to win consecutive Premier League games for the first time since late September after previously thrashing relegation-threatened Southampton 5-0 at Saint Mary’s Stadium.
However, things didn’t go according to script as shambolic defending from Spurs left them trailing the Reds by two goals just after the half-hour mark, courtesy of goals from Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister.
Ange Postecoglou’s side pulled one back through James Maddison, but it lasted merely minutes as Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool’s two-goal lead.
The second 45 minutes followed the same pattern, with Mohamed Salah netting a seven-minute brace to put the game past the beleaguered Spurs.
Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke did their best to spark a comeback, but Luis Diaz buried those hopes with a late goal to hand Liverpool a massive 6-3 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Several Tottenham stars, including skipper Son Heung-min, were among top contenders for the worst performers on the pitch, but one who stood out was Radu Dragusin.
The 22-year-old has come under intense scrutiny for repeatedly dropping dreadful performances and failing to step up in the absence of Cristian Romero or Micky van de Ven.
Tottenham need to cut Dragusin loose, he’s not good enough
Before joining the club, the Romanian defender was hailed as one of the best young centre-backs in Serie A, and Spurs moved swiftly to land his signature, beating the likes of Bayern Munich in the race.
However, he has been massively unreliable since arriving on English shores, and his performance against Liverpool was further evidence that the youngster isn’t good enough to perform at the highest level.
He was at fault for at least two of Liverpool’s six goals in Sunday’s box-office showdown. He allowed Diaz to skip past him for the first goal and was miles off winning the key header that paved the way for Szoboszlai’s strike.
Despite his towering 6ft3 frame, Dragusin won just one of his three aerial duels and lost possession 14 times. He touched the ball 90 times but only completed one out of 11 long balls en route to a 5.7 rating on Sofascore.
Dragusin has struggled to live up to expectations at Spurs, and the club must consider cutting him loose when the January transfer window opens.
Stats from Sofascore.com