[ad_pod ]
Tottenham Hotspur fringe man Danny Rose started his side’s crucial Champions League clash with Barcelona at the Camp Nou on Tuesday night, and he finally looked to be back to his very best.
On the chalkboard
Just a few seasons ago much of Spurs’ success on the pitch was helped by their marauding full-backs in Rose and Kyle Walker, but the former has fallen behind Ben Davies in the pecking order over the course of the previous 18 months or so, with injuries and a controversial interview with The Sun also probably playing a small part in that.
The 28-year-old has once again had to settle with starts here and there under manager Mauricio Pochettino this term, and while Davies had generally been given the nod in their biggest games previously, it was the England international who made the XI against the La Liga giants.
It was just his 10th outing of the campaign with groin issues also affecting him in more recent times, but the £65,000-a-week man certainly made the most of his opportunity.
What happens now?
Well, Pochettino may have had doubts in the past as to whether the Yorkshire-born full-back still had a long-term future – or a future at all – with the Lilywhites, but Rose rolled back the years against the La Liga champions in the 1-1 draw.
Impressive defensively and making those runs down the left-hand side he once did he certainly caught the eye, although he missed one glaring opportunity for the visitors that he won’t want to see again.
Luckily it didn’t matter in the end as Tottenham secured a draw thanks to Lucas Moura’s goal and advanced thanks to Inter Milan being held by PSV Eindhoven at the San Siro, and not only may he have convinced his manager that he still has a big role to play for the north London outfit, but also that he deserves to be first-choice left-back again.
