Jamie Vardy announced his return to the Premier League with a goal on Monday night, helping newly promoted Leicester City.
It was a tough start to the new season for Ange Postecoglou‘s side, who despite taking a commanding grip on the match, could not hang on to their one goal lead.
Pedro Porro’s glancing header into the bottom right corner after 29 minutes gave Spurs the edge in the match – but as their manager, Postecoglou admitted at the end of the match, Tottenham failed to put away their chances – which would ultimately prove costly.
Eight years after beating Spurs to the title, it was Vardy who would return to score his ninth Premier League goal against the north London club, helping Leicester take away a point from their opening league clash of the season. Announcing his return to the top-flight, Vardy, unmarked at the back post, headed in a cross from Issahaku Fatawu to equalise for the Foxes.
‘[It was a] disappointing outcome,’ Postecoglou said after the match. ‘Very dominant first half, really wasteful in front of goal.
Tottenham were held to a 1-1 draw by Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Monday
Jamie Vardy (second from left) scored an equaliser in the second half to cancel out Pedro Porro’s strike
Ange Postecoglou stated that the result was ‘disappointing’ with his side dominating Leicester for attempts and possession
‘First 15-20 minutes we were very dominant, wasteful but you know at 1-0 there is always an opportunity for the opposition to come back into the game. That’s what happened and we lost our way for 15 or 20 minutes.
‘We lost our composure and the crowd got behind them, but again finished strong. [I’m] just really disappointed we lacked a little cutting edge in the front third, made some poor decisions, lacked some composure and didn’t get the reward our football deserved.’
With 20 minutes to play concerning scenes also unfolded as Spurs midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was knocked out after clashing heads with Leicester’s Abdul Fatawu while attacking a corner.
He would subsequently be replaced by summer signing Archie Gray, with the former Leeds midfielder coming on as a concussion substitute.
Tottenham would then go on to make another five substitutions in the second half. But some fans have questioned how Postecoglou’s side were allowed to make six substitutes.
Vardy (right) announced his return to the Premier League in style, helping Steve Cooper’s (left) newly promoted side pick up their first points of the season
Rodrigo Bentancur suffered a concerning head injury during the match and appeared to be knocked out
Bentancur was subsequently taken from the field on a stretcher with Archie Gray coming on as a concussion substitute
As they looked to seal a winner, Postecoglou opted to bring on attackers Timo Werner and Dejan Kulusevski on in the 78th minute, while midfielders, Gray and Lucas Bergvall would also come on.
Later in the game, Postecoglou was forced to replace Pedro Porro for right back Djed Spence in injury time, with the former having appeared to suffer a soft tissue injury. Richarlison also came on for Son Heung-min several minutes before full time.
The Premier League allows teams to make a maximum of five tactical substitutions on three occasions during a match – a rule that was first introduced at the start of the 2022-23 season.
In 2021, top-flight bosses agreed to trial the International Football Association Board’s (IFAB) recommended rules on concussion substitutes, with a view to adding extra measures to protect players from suffering neurological injuries after sustaining head injuries and to also ensure teams are not at a numerical disadvantage.
This means that teams are able to make a maximum of two extra concussion substitutes during a match, on top of the five tactical substitutions they can make, if a player sustains a head injury and has symptoms of concussion.
Postecoglou would subsequently use his full five-substitute allocation, as well as bringing Gray on (second from left) for Bentancur
Richarlisson would also come on in injury time for Son Heung-min as Spurs chased a late winner
Following a medical assessment, if doctors believe that the substituted player is showing symptoms of concussion, that player will not be allowed to return to the field of play. Should they deemed ok to continue, the player can return to the pitch.
Any player on the team’s list of nine matchday substitutes can come on as a concussion substitute and can also be used even if the team has allocated all of their tactical changes.
Bentancur was Tottenham’s first change of the match, but his substitution was due to concussion, meaning that Postecoglou still had a full allotment of five tactical changes for the remainder of the game.
Postecglou gave an update on Bentancur’s condition after the match, and was asked whether the midfielder was knocked out.
‘I don’t know,’ he responded. ‘Whenever it’s a head injury and you see a player go down, I think nowadays we’re always cautious in that moment and I don’t know the actual circumstances but I know it was a head collision.’
