FC Barcelona 4-2 Spurs | Ange on Skippy: “He never stops the intensity of his play”
Wed 09 August 2023, 13:15|
Tottenham Hotspur
For 80 minutes on Tuesday evening, it looked like we were going to be able to talk about how ‘one of our own’ stole the show from one of the greats to win Barcelona’s Joan Gamper Trophy at the Olympic Stadium.
Trailing 1-0 to Robert Lewandowski’s early strike, Oliver Skipp turned the game on its head with a performance that had everything you look for in a midfielder - with two goals the icing on the cake.
It’s been noticeable how Skippy has got more involved in forward areas in pre-season and he showed that string to his bow as we rocked the Catalans in the first half, calmly slotting home the rebound after Gio Lo Celso hit the post to level before a late run into the box to power home Ivan Perisic’s cross for 2-1 by the interval.
Still leading 2-1 and giving as good as we got in an open, competitive encounter, Barcelona found an extra yard in the final 10 minutes to turn the game back around with goals from Ferran Torres (81 minutes), Ansu Fati (90) and Abdessamad Ezzalouli (90+3).
Speaking to SPURSPLAY and asked about Skippy’s performance, Ange told us: “He’s a super player, you know. He’s got so much energy, works hard, he never stops the intensity of his play with or without the ball, and that’s a weapon for any player.
“He was great tonight. He picked up a bit of a knock but still battled through. He’s a super player and he was amongst a number tonight. I thought our midfield three were outstanding. They had to work hard both ways but when they got hold of the ball they were really dangerous, there was some really strong defensive work from the lads in the second half as well. As I said, we just ran out of legs.”
Asked about Skippy by the media in Barcelona, Ange said: “He has been outstanding. He didn't have much of a break but since he's been in he's got bags of energy and he uses that really well. He maintains an intensity with and without the ball that makes him hard to contend with. He was outstanding tonight. He got a significant knock early but battled through it and that shows his character.”
