Jamie Carragher believes Roberto De Zerbi will have serious frustrations with Spurs forward Mathys Tel after the young player’s costly error denied his team all three points against Leeds United.
Tel’s evening was one of dramatic highs and lows. He brilliantly broke the deadlock with a long-range strike shortly after the interval to put Spurs ahead, but later undid much of his good work by recklessly conceding a penalty — catching Leeds midfielder Ethan Ampadu with a raised boot while attempting an overhead clearance.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin stepped up to level from the spot, and Leeds almost snatched a winner through Sean Longstaff before the final whistle. The draw left Tottenham just two points above the drop zone with only two games to play.
Carragher was critical of Tel’s judgment in the moment, pointing out on Sky Sports that the Frenchman had actually spotted Ampadu before following through with the challenge. “He sees him, he looks,” Carragher noted, arguing that Tel still had enough time to adjust but failed to do so — making it a particularly avoidable and costly mistake.
That said, Carragher was careful to put Tel’s errors in context. He acknowledged that the young attacker has been genuinely impactful in recent weeks — helping set up the winner at Wolves, assisting a goal at Villa, and scoring the opener on Monday — and that De Zerbi will need to balance his frustration with an appreciation of just how much Tel has contributed.
There was a silver lining for Spurs, however, as goalkeeper Kinsky produced a stunning late stop to deny Longstaff and preserve the point. Carragher was full of admiration, calling it one of the saves of the season and noting how remarkable Kinsky’s recovery has been after his nightmare outing against Atletico Madrid earlier in the campaign — a game that many felt had ended his future at the club.
