As Tottenham gear up for the upcoming clash against Chelsea, manager Ange Postecoglou has reacted to claims of Guglielmo Vicario being targeted.
After suffering a disappointing defeat at the hands of Arsenal in the North London Derby, Tottenham are gearing up for another big clash. They are all set to square up against London rivals Chelsea in search of three important as they look to keep their hopes of a top-four finish alive.
Spurs are completely focused on the job at hand as they look to bounce back from the defeat against Mikel Arteta’s team.
Post the defeat, Guglielmo Vicario’s ability to deal with balls into the box and the fact that opposition teams are targeting him during set-pieces have become a major talking point.
Postecoglou was asked about his shot-stopper being targeted during his pre-match press conference ahead of the Derby against Chelsea, and the Australian has now shared his thoughts.
He said to Football.London: “I think he’s seen that there’s a challenge. It’s something that even I’m struggling with because I watched the Champions League last night and there was a foul given on the keeper straight away. We’re trying to get clarity on it.”
While Vicario has had a decent debut season at the North London club, his ability to deal with aerial balls has been questioned by former players and pundits. On multiple occasions during the ongoing season, he has struggled to deal with set pieces that have cost Spurs dearly.
The opposition players tend to crowd the six-yard box, putting pressure on the 27-year-old, not allowing him to come out and clear the threat. Postecoglou seems to believe that Vicario has been fouled on occasions and the decisions haven’t gone in his favour.
Postecoglou claims the Italian goalkeeper is aware of the fact that teams will target him but he is struggling to understand why decisions haven’t gone in his favour. He even highlighted that something similar happened in the Champions League clash between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid and that the referee was quick to spot the foul. But, the same can’t be said about the games in which his team have been involved.
