Nabil Bentaleb Performance Report

Nabil Bentaleb Performance Report


Opponents: Partizan Belgrade
Competition: UEFA Europa League
Venue: Partizan Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia (UEFA Category 3 Stadium)

Nabil Bentaleb Performance Report


Nabil Bentaleb will always have his critics simply because Tim Sherwood picked him ahead of a disinterested Sandro. Regardless of what he does some will never see him as good enough even though he is only 19 and has less than a season's experience.

It says a lot about him that seeing him in the team for a tough tie with a new recruit alongside him and a new centre-back behind him, doesn't raise a eyebrow. His performance against Benfica away last year showed a maturity beyond his years so an atmosphere like this was never going to phase him.

He and Stambouli had good games doing the donkey work quietly and efficiently

First-half

14 mins Bentaleb plays an excellent long through ball for Lennon behind the defence but on the edge of the area with the keeper coming out the ball takes a high bounce and the chance is gone.

26 mins Bentaleb plays the ball to Paulinho who has a right foot shot from outside the area but the shot blocked.

28 mins Bentaleb breaks up play and two passes later Paulinho is attacking.

43 mins Poor pass from Bentaleb behind his man from the half-way line. A bit of confusion but Stambouli is covering and clears up the danger.

Half-time: A good solid performance with just the one error. Thanks to he and Stanbouli going about their work the central defenders are having little to deal with through the middle, a sure side the pair of them are doing their job. A 98% pass success for Bentaleb.

Second-half


Nothing of not to report, he again did a very efficient job going unseen by some, the mark of a good performance. Don't know why some people are only impressed with flashiness. He formed an excellent partnership with Stambouli and seems to adapt well to new players around him. The central defenders would have been happy with his nights work.

Again in this game he played a long through ball behind the defence to create a chance and these are becoming a feature of his game. He has a bit of growing and filling out to do, at the moment he is a wiry and fiery with determination and a cool head. The attributes are there to become an excellent player.

Twitter Reaction

The Spurs Brain ‏@TheSpursBrain
Bentaleb & 'Benji' working well as a pair but we're lacking any real spark in the final third. Won't be long until we see Eriksen or Lamela

EPL Stat Man ‏@EPLStatman
Nabil Bentaleb completed 98% of his 40 passes in the first half

TheHotspurInsider ‏@HotspurInsider
If Bentaleb was English we wouldn't stop hearing about him in the media.

Danny ‏@realdealdanny
Yet again Bentaleb hasn't done anything! The bare minimum I cannot work out what others see