View: 64% star can be Tottenham's unexpected hero as stats vs Atletico Madrid emerge, it's not Simons

Randal Kolo Muani could be the hero to emerge from the shadows for Tottenham Hotspur in what is now the most crucial stage of the season.

The Lilywhites picked up their first victory under Igor Tudor on Wednesday with a 3-2 90-minute win over Atletico Madrid, but it wasn’t enough to keep them in the Champions League, losing 7-5 on aggregate overall.

Kolo Muani was on the scoresheet against the La Liga outfit, and seems to be one of Tudor’s favourites in a Spurs shirt right now.

The Frenchman was rumoured to be heading back to Juventus in the winter market, but complications with parent club PSG made the deal difficult to conclude.

Tottenham’s goal is to stay in the Premier League, and now that their Champions League journey has ended, Kolo Muani looks primed to step up.

Randal Kolo Muani’s stats vs Atletico Madrid paint the picture

Thomas Frank wanted to keep Kolo Muani when Juventus were ringing the phone for his services once more in January.

It went right down until the final day of the winter market, and Tottenham fans may be glad that they did keep the forward in N17 now.

As highlighted by Sofascore in the graphic below, Kolo Muani picked up a 7.4 match rating against Atletico Madrid, as his expertly dispatched header put the cherry on the icing on the cake of what was a terrific individual display.

The 27-year-old had just 26 touches and two shots, but also chipped in defensively by making four defensive contributions in total.

Despite his 64 per cent passing rate, Kolo Muani is continuing to show that if provided with chances, he will bury them.

The on-loan PSG star scored four times in this Champions League campaign, overachieving his xG by 1.35.

What’s the latest on Dominic Solanke’s injury?

Kolo Muani has already played in four of Europe’s top five leagues, and across that time, has been deployed as both a winger and a striker.

But he’s so far been seen as a number nine at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and is proving to be the most influential striker of the Lilywhites’ season.

It’s even more important considering that Dominic Solanke may not play again this season.

Tudor confirmed that Solanke has a “small problem” that prevented him from playing against Atletico Madrid, but we’ve seen in the case of Dejan Kulusevski that’s not always the truth at Tottenham.

If Solanke does indeed miss the rest of the campaign, Kolo Muani looks like the man who can save Spurs from the jaws of defeat.

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