We were disjointed. We had no transformation player linking the attack and the defence. As there was no Son, we had had no players making the run in behind Kane.
I feel as if the players’ heads dropped once Tanganga was sent off. We had shown no creative spark, we had given no sense that we would achieve a result, but instead we were waiting for a 0-0… or as it transpired, a sizeable loss. Nuno Espírito Santo was either unprepared to make the required changes, or was unable to make the desired changes with forced substitutions for first, Dier’s injury, and then Tanganga’s dismissal.
Ultimately, it was a game that we were never going to win set up as we were. We need Ndombele to find his head, he is the link player that we need. He is a player that can be a ball carrier and also a distributor. He has the eye for a pass and can help the side tick BUT he needs to get his head down, play hard and be the player that he can be, and that we need him to be.
Ndombele is the answer but sadly only if he wants to be.