Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to earn Ryan Mason his first point as interim head coach against Manchester United on Thursday evening.
Heung-min Son looked like himself with his 79th-minute equaliser, combining with his typical partner Harry Kane to finish from close range. The visiting Red Devils had looked to be running away with a rampant victory after early first-half goals from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford.
Though it was Pedro Porro who launched the fight back ten minutes into the second half. Soon after, Richarlison – who was handed a rare start by the 31-year-old boss – was hooked for Dejan Kulusevski, and it was hardly a surprise as the Brazilian forward failed to make an impact yet again.
How did Richarlison play vs Man Utd?
Having signed for £60m in the summer, the 25-year-old is still yet to find the net in the Premier League, making him one of the more disappointing signings under disgraced sporting director Fabio Paratici and in recent times.
He has failed to take his big chance to shine under Mason, a rare opportunity to prove his former boss Antonio Conte wrong too. The Italian had only started him in nine games throughout his tenure and even suggested that the former Everton star was having a poor season, but in more explicit terms.
Richarlison struggled to grasp any real authority on the game, as evident by his measly 26 touches across the 61 minutes he was on the pitch. By comparison, goalkeeper Fraser Forster – starting in the absence of injured skipper Hugo Lloris – managed more (31), whilst his replacement Kulusevski was only four short of matching his output in half the time.
Completing just five of nine passing attempts also suggests that the £90k-per-week star struggled to stamp any mark on the game in the final third.
Also via Sofascore, the Brazil international was feeble in front of goal, managing just one shot on target with an expected goals (xG) ratio of 0.10 – Kane registered a 0.27 while recording the same number of attempts on goal.
Meanwhile, the lightweight also won just 40% of his ten duels, a worrying sign against a backline that contained only one recognised centre-back as Victor Lindelof partnered Luke Shaw in the middle.
The Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick summed up Richarlison’s performance well, claiming that “his decision-making has been poor.”
Considering he was hooked with Mason looking to the Swedish winger to make a positive impact in their search for an equaliser, it’s a rather damning indictment of just how poor the club-record signing has been, especially when you look at his form for a much poorer outfit like Everton.
As such, Richarlison failed to take his chance to prove Conte wrong and struggled to show that he can be a difference-maker for the interim manager heading into the final few fixtures as Tottenham look to qualify for a place in Europe.