"Simons takes it personally when things are not going well and that had been the case, pretty much, since his 51.8m move from RB Leipzig last August. The 22-year-old knows his levels. These were not them. What Simons did next was to figuratively tear off the gloves. It was as if he pointed at the pitch and told his opponents he was ready to go one-on-one with them. He would get past them and he would make something happen."
"It was a street-football vibe, however counterintuitive that may sound for a player who was schooled at La Masia, the Barcelona academy. Simons was the spark for an improved second-half performance, bringing the drive, the sense of possibility. It did not avert another defeat, Spurs losing 2-1, but, for the first time, the club had really seen him. It was the prelude for more."
Xavi Simons hit a low point during the FA Cup tie with Aston Villa on 10 January, when Tottenham were booed off at half-time and trailed 2-0. He responded by taking the initiative, adopting a street-football aggression despite being schooled at La Masia, and sparked an improved second-half showing that revealed his drive. That performance preceded a run in which he stood out in three of five subsequent matches, including Champions League wins over Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt and a 2-2 draw with Manchester City. Opta data show his underlying numbers have risen, with 17 chances created in six matches versus 24 in his first 23 appearances, and a substantially higher shot count. His display against Manchester City marked him as Tottenham’s lone bright spot in a poor first half.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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