Gary Neville has urged Xavi Simons to ‘simplify’ his game after being impressed by his performance during Tottenham’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City.
Simons produced an excellent display against City as he played a key role in helping Tottenham rescue a point at home to the Premier League’s second-placed team.
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The 22-year-old assisted Dominic Solanke’s first goal of the game, which gave the team a foothold back into the match.
After the match, Neville spoke very fondly of Simons’ showing against Pep Guardiola’s team, but issued some clear advice for the midfielder.
Gary Neville hails Xavi Simons’ ‘really good’ game vs Man City
Gary Neville believes that Xavi Simons was ‘really good’ against Manchester City and was one of the Tottenham players who stood up.
Simons has struggled at Tottenham, but over recent weeks, the Dutch international has started to head in the right direction.
Commenting on Simons’ performance, Neville told Sky Sports: “I actually think Xavi Simons, who has struggled since he’s come, I actually thought he was really good. He kept going to be fair to him.
“There have been moments in games where I’ve seen him drowned out almost in matches where it’s just been he’s passed him by. I actually thought today he stood up. He always seemed to want the ball.”
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The former Premier League defender is keen for him to now simplify his game slightly, adding: “I think he could simplify his game a little bit more.
“I think when he gets it on that far side in that channel on that Spurs left. He’s got that little bit of a jink, get into a position, and just put those little balls in or those little reverse passes. Simplify your game. You don’t have to do anything different from that.
“I always think if you’re coming in off a wide area, he’s not somebody who’s going to go past players with blistering pace and sort of make Saido Mane at Liverpool style runs through. He’s more of a jinker and a manipulator of the ball.
“So again, you’ve got to have an output and an end product. You’ve got to be predictable. Unpredictable to the player that you’re playing against, but predictable to the players who are in your team, so they know when to time their runs.”
On Sunday, he managed the most touches, won the most duels, had the most shots, completed the most take-ons, created the most chances and won the most fouls.
Gary Neville praises Thomas Frank’s Tottenham changes
Neville has also praised the changes Frank made at half-time by changing Tottenham into a back four, and praised the players for stepping up.
Joao Palhinha and Archie Gray were both used out of position; however, the pair looked really solid against City.
“What we’ve just seen in that second half is a reflection of Tottenham’s character that Thomas Frank has got something out of them simplifying the game. A back four that really should have caused all sorts of problems, but weren’t. They really stood up,” he added.
“Archie Gray and I think Palhinha on that right side defence, in particular, who were out of position, I thought they were fantastic in that second half. Connor Gallagher in midfield, I thought, was very good.”
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