¡Gio, lo siento!

Was GLC our MOTM...and our MATM?

Reflecting further upon Sunday’s match…in which Sonny added to his prolific scoring record against Man City and Deki extended his streak at the Etihad…I perhaps denied Giovani Lo Celso his due in my match post. I daresay dubbing him “capable cover for Maddison” was damning him with faint praise after such a fine performance.

At the risk of committing recency bias, Sunday’s match might have been his best one in a Spurs shirt. GLC played the first half in a double pivot with Bissouma, then took on an advanced role in the second half with Deki out wide. All Gio did was complete 40 out of 40 passes and score one of our prettiest goals of the season.

I recall Eric Dier saying how watching Gio in practice made him wonder how the player hadn’t gotten snatched up by Real or Barca. With his chronic fitness struggles and his loan to Villarreal last year during Conte’s crumbling final season with us, it’s perhaps easy to forget how important Lo Celso once was to our post-Eriksen attack.

There are some players we describe as “tidy,” and perhaps no one in our team more exudes this quality than GLC. When fit and in form, he’s a pretty player to behold. Watch him on the ball…his balance is extraordinary, his center of gravity sound, his movement seemingly effortless. A curling Gio pass sending a player down the left wing is akin to a conductor’s wave of the baton to the first chair violinist. Even with Son’s and Deki’s heroics on Sunday, a case could be made Gio was really our MOTM.

He certainly was our Man After the Match. Gio has a bit of Cuti in him, doesn’t he? Having squared up with Matty Cash after his latest on-pitch assault, Lo Celso soft-key shouldered Haaland during the striker’s post-match hysterics. Even Pep got involved in the incident.

How important is it to have an attacking mid to provide cover for Madders? Gee, I don’t know…we’ve never really had such creative mid cover before, at least since I’ve been supporting THFC…but I’ve heard tell of other clubs who do and how nice that is, so I’ll take their words for it.

At least for now, GLC is a vital member of our XI as we look to bridge the gap until our favorite dart thrower returns.