Tottenham star Rodrigo Bentancur LOSES IT as he furiously kicks his chair three times after being subbed off in 2-0 Man City defeat… while a worried Bryan Gil watches on next to him
An extremely frustrated Rodrigo Bentancur struggled to hide his emotions as he was substituted during Tottenham’s 2-0 defeat to Man City on Tuesday.
The Uruguayan was replaced by Dejan Kulusevski just minutes after Erling Haaland had given City the lead on the night, prompting a furious outburst from the midfielder as he took his place on the bench.
Footage shows the Spurs star lashing out moments after being removed from the seat, kicking his seat three times in a fit of rage as a concerned Bryan Gil could only see it happen next to him.
The 26-year-old then threw his water bottle into the ground before eventually sitting on the Spurs bench, much to the shock of his teammates.
As replays of the match were played on Sky Sports, the commentators picked up on the former Juventus man’s emotional reaction.
Rodrigo Bentancur lost his cool after being substituted in the 2-0 defeat to Manchester City
The irate midfielder struggled to keep his emotions in check as Bryan Gil (left) tried to calm him down
His outburst of anger was caught on camera just after City had taken the lead
âBentancur was somehow unimpressed with the state of the game or the decision to withdraw him,â said Sky Sports commentator Peter Drury. “That’s an angry man.”
However, Drury’s co-commentator Jamie Carragher praised Bentancur for his performance, adding: “Listen, he’s done well!”
It was a bizarre evening full of emotions for Tottenham and their supporters, with a defeat allowing Man City to return to the top of the table above their arch-rivals Arsenal, setting up a final shoot-out for the Premier League title.
The build-up to the match was dominated by talk of Spurs fans wanting their own side to lose to prevent Arsenal from being in the driver’s seat to win their first Premier League title in 20 years.
And the subdued crowd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium remained a talking point for Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou, who branded the club’s foundations as ‘fragile’ in a testy post-match assessment of the club’s state of play.
Jamie Carragher claimed Bentancur (left) had played well in the match before his substitution
But the 26-year-old was not very happy that he was replaced shortly before the end
While Spurs put in a strong performance against City, two second-half goals from Erling Haaland earned them a precious win, but the home fans chanted ‘are you watching Arsenal?’ after the striker’s opener in the 51st minute.
The atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was flatter than many other home games, with the majority of the numbers focused on Arsenal, but Postecoglou refused to be drawn on what exactly prompted a testy press conference that ended with the Australian conceding that ‘adjustments’ are needed to take the club to the top.
âI think the last 48 hours have made it clear to me that the fundamentals are quite fragile, mate,â Postecoglou said.
‘That’s exactly what I think. I think the last 48 hours have revealed a lot to me. Fine. It just means I have to go back to the drawing board on some things.â
Postecoglou wondered what he meant and replied: ‘Outside, inside, everywhere. It was an interesting exercise.
âJust my observations, buddy. I’m not going to tell you because it’s for me. I’m the one who has to do it.
‘You can estimate for yourself what happened. I understand. I probably misinterpreted the situation as to what I think is important in your quest to become a winning team, but that’s okay. That’s why I’m here.
Ange Postecoglou was seething after Tottenham were defeated by Manchester City on Tuesday and took aim at his own supporters
The Australian was even confronted by one Tottenham supporter in the stands during the match
Postecoglou criticized his club after the match because the base was ‘fairly vulnerable’
‘No, it has nothing to do with summer plans. The summer plans are there.’
Asked about Tottenham fans chanting ‘are you watching Arsenal?’, Postecoglou insisted: ‘I’m not interested, mate. I just don’t care.
‘Maybe I’m out of line, but I don’t care, I just want to win. I want to be successful at this football club, that’s why I was brought in.
âSo what other people are like, how they want to feel and what their priorities are, I don’t care about anything. I know what is important to build a winning team, that’s what I have to focus on.
‘I can’t dictate what people do. They can express themselves however they want. But yes, when we have late winners in games it is because the crowd helped us.
“I already know what I want to do, I just need to make some adjustments in the way I do it.”
Former Spurs midfielder Jamie Redknapp, who works on the game as a TV pundit, questioned the culture at the club.
Some Tottenham fans even reenacted City’s famous Poznan celebration after the visitors scored their first goal
Erling Haaland scored twice as Man City returned to the top of the Premier League
The defeat to City meant Spurs failed to qualify for a place in next season’s Champions League
Redknapp told Sky Sports: ‘It wasn’t easy to listen to what was going on and people were wondering if Spurs might win this game.
‘There was a chance of Champions League football with this club, but people were more interested in preventing Arsenal from winning the title.
‘That mentality – and I agree with him (Postecoglou) 100 percent, that’s what he’s referring to – that’s a culture that has existed at this club for a long time.
‘I was here. I never had the feeling that there was a winning mentality.’