Sessegnon returns
Tottenham's drab showing against Brighton & Hove Albion last Saturday resulted in Antonio Conte making a change to his XI to take on Brentford. Ryan Sessegnon was the man to come into the side as Sergio Reguilon dropped down to the bench, with the head coach revealing ahead of kick-off that the Spaniard is currently suffering with a groin problem.
Struggling to get a consistent run in the Tottenham team ever since his move from Fulham in August 2019 due to a number of injury issues, Sessegnon appeared to have made the position his own prior to sustaining a hamstring injury against Everton at the start of March. Despite returning to the squad a fortnight ago against Aston Villa, the 21-year-old's start at Brentford Community Stadium was in fact his first appearance since the win over the Toffees.
With Reguilon struggling in the final third in recent weeks with his final ball letting him down, it was more of the same for his rival as well as he just didn't have a say on proceedings. In a good position around the hour mark but getting his cross all wrong as it sailed way over the crossbar, Sessegnon was hooked not long after as Davinson Sanchez entered the fray.
Going on the youngster's poor showing in west London, the left wing-back dilemma still remains for Conte.
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Eriksen reception
All eyes were on Christian Eriksen in west London as the Dane came up against his former club for the first time since departing Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in January 2020. Looking like he would have to call time on his career last summer after suffering a cardiac arrest while representing his country at Euro 2020, the attacking midfielder made a triumphant return to the Premier League in January with Brentford taking a chance on him.
The 30-year-old has since repaid the Bees with some huge performances to help them move away from the relegation zone and to within touching distance of the top half. Winning all five of their games when he has started, Spurs knew that they had a big job on their hands to try and nullify the Brentford man in such an important game in their top-four quest.
Prior to coming out on the pitch ahead of the 5.30pm kick-off, Eriksen went to greet a number of his former Spurs teammates in the tunnel. Hugging international teammate Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, the midfielder then did likewise with Eric Dier, Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris.
Receiving a fantastic reception from the whole stadium when his name was read out, the player was then given a standing ovation as he made his way over towards the travelling faithful after four minutes when he went to take a corner.
Top-four nerves?
Starting the day in fourth but dropping down to fifth ahead of kick-off, Tottenham knew what they had to do at Brentford Community Stadium following Arsenal's 3-1 win over Manchester United. Needing to come out of the blocks extremely quickly to cause problems for the Bees, Spurs looked extremely jittery to begin with against Thomas Frank's men.
It was Brentford who controlled the game from the off, registering corner after corner and striking the crossbar through Ivan Toney. Spurs offered very little in response and the stats from the first 45 minutes highlighted that their opponents had had seven shots on goal compared to their two.
Unfortunately this isn't a one-off for the Lilywhites as they also struggled in the first half in the recent games against Newcastle, Aston Villa and Brighton. Are some nerves possibly creeping in at such a crucial time in the season?
Conte sub question
On a day when they needed to hit the ground running, Spurs really struggled against Brentford and barely caused them any problems. The Lilywhites did up the pressure on the Bees after the break, yet David Raya in the home goal had nothing of note to do between the sticks.
Not looking like they were going to force a winner with the game nearing its conclusion, it seemed the perfect time for Conte to make an attacking change to try and swing the game in their favour, Instead, his first alteration came on 74 minutes as Sanchez replaced Sessegnon, which in turn saw Ben Davies switch to left wing-back.
Despite having Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn on his bench, it wasn't until six minutes from time when the Brazilian was introduced. While his late substitutions could be seen as a show of faith in his players on the pitch, it is perhaps more to do with a lack of game-changing options on the bench.
Such an important summer for the club as they look to kick on under Conte, Tottenham need more quality both in their XI and on the bench if they are to get back to their previous heights.
Kane concern
Tottenham's woes at Brentford Community Stadium saw Kane's run without a goal stretch to another game. Last finding the net for the Lilywhites in March in the 2-0 win away at Brighton, the 28-year-old has now failed to score in his last five league appearances.
Thankfully in the first three games of that period Spurs didn't need to rely so much on Kane as goals came from other areas of the pitch, yet in the past two fixtures they have just not troubled their opponents. Seeing a shot deflected over early in the second half after a neat turn and an acrobatic effort fly just wide in stoppage time, it was a frustrating 90 minutes for the player with barely any service to him.
Kane's failure to score against the Bees meant he missed the chance to record scoring against every Premier League opponent, although he will have the chance to accomplish that feat next term with the Bees looking safe and secure in the top flight. Spurs really need Kane to find his shooting boots with Arsenal now having a two-point advantage in the top four, but for that to happen then he needs others to create the chances he so desperately craves.
