Tottenham Hotspur lost the final home game of the season, falling to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City.
That result was actually a positive for some Tottenham fans who wanted to lose the game.
Defeat means the Premier League title is in City’s hands heading into the final day, leaving Arsenal trailing behind.
Perhaps that is petty, perhaps Tottenham fans should want to win every game no matter what – as Ange Postecoglou wants – but sometimes the rivalry just takes over.
There has been a real storm over the perceived mentality around Tottenham with Postecoglou furious.
That has almost overshadowed that Tottenham actually turned in a decent performance.
Spurs caused real problems for City and after weeks of underwhelming displays, this was one where Tottenham showed some of the positive ‘Angeball’ signs again.
Radu Dragusin reacts to Tottenham Hotspur display
Postecoglou made a change in his back line for the visit of City.
Micky van de Ven moved over to left back, paving the way for Radu Dragusin to come in as the left-sided centre back.
The January signing from Genoa was making just his third Premier League start having found it difficult to break into the Spurs side.
One first-half block didn’t quite get the appreciation it deserved – or Dragusin expected – but this was a promising display.
Dragusin didn’t look out of place against Erling Haaland and there is certainly something in Dragusin’s game to work with moving forward.
Dragusin has now taken to Instagram to share a message following the defeat to City.
‘Competing with the best challenges us to elevate our game. Today’s result wasn’t what we aimed for, but it’s a step in our journey of improvement. One more game to go,’ said Dragusin.
The defender shared photos of him challenge Kevin De Bruyne and blocking the goal bound Bernardo Silva strike with his head.
Dragusin clearly relished facing world-class opponents and will be looking to do it on many more occasions moving forward.
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Expect more from Dragusin next season
Arriving in January can be difficult for any player and Dragusin has found that at Tottenham.
Breaking into the side when Cristian Romero and Van de Ven are the first-choice centre backs would have been tough for many centre backs.
Dragusin wasn’t exactly impressive at Fulham but his display against City suggests that he can be relied upon to start games next season.
Maybe Dragusin will force his way into the side; maybe Van de Ven will play more games at left back and allow Dragusin to start.
That flexibility has become more of a weapon for Postecoglou after Tuesday’s defeat and Dragusin is ready to really knock on the door.
A pre-season schedule at Tottenham should really help Dragusin after Euro 2024, with Spurs fans no doubt encouraged after his display against City.
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