Souza will be better player for Tottenham learning curve moment in Crystal Palace loss

Some harsh lessons were given out to numerous Tottenham players on Thursday night.

Just when Tottenham supporters thought they’d seen it all from their team this season, they’re forced to think again, after Crystal Palace ran out 3-1 winners at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday.

Dominic Solanke’s 34th-minute strike had threatened to make it a night to remember for all the right reasons for Spurs, as Igor Tudor‘s men took a 1-0 lead.

Four minutes later, however, Micky van de Ven received his marching orders for the denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity, conceding a penalty in the process that Ismaila Sarr calmly rolled past Guglielmo Vicario for 1-1.

Palace then swiftly made their man advantage count, as Jorgen Strand Larsen and Sarr again netted, giving them a 3-1 lead which they saw out until the final whistle.

• Read more: Guglielmo Vicario lets Tottenham down after early ‘wonderful’ moment in Crystal Palace loss

Souza was sacrificed by Igor Tudor in Tottenham vs Crystal Palace

The aforementioned red card from Van de Ven forced Tudor to rejig his tactical and personnel approach, but in order to do so, sacrifices were going to have to be made.

Randal Kolo Muani and Souza were the unfortunate two who were chosen to be withdrawn on 43 minutes, with Conor Gallagher and Yves Bissouma brought on in their places.

Evidently, Tudor was attempting to shore up his midfield options in the hope that Spurs would make it difficult for Palace to break them down, which didn’t have the desired effect.

At 27, Kolo Muani is experienced enough to take a moment such as this in his stride, but for a 19-year-old Souza who only just became a Spurs player in January, he visibly looked heartbroken.

The teenage left-back is clearly desperate to make an early impression in N17, and Thursday was supposed to be his biggest opportunity to do so, as he was in from the start for the first time.

However, he did pick up an early yellow card that probably helped Tudor circle him as being someone he could take off in that moment, and he hadn’t quite found the pace of the game at that point either.

• Read more: Tim Sherwood makes desperate Souza claim ahead of Tottenham vs Crystal Palace

Souza will always have chip on his shoulder after Palace

What his early sacrificial substitution against Palace will do is place a sizeable chip on Souza’s shoulder: one that he can take forward with him to help him become a better player.

It already has the feeling of being a watershed moment in his Spurs career, and one that could be looked back in a few years’ time where we can point towards the making of Souza in a Tottenham shirt.

Tudor’s decision to bring him off will hurt, but it will also serve as fuel for Souza, determined that in the event of a similar situation in the future, he won’t be in the crosshairs of whoever is in the Tottenham dugout.

A fire may just have been lit under Souza now, and if so, expect to see him take his performances up a notch between now and the end of the campaign.

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