Sessegnon proves silent but deadly as Spurs kid lets football do talking in stunning debut vs Bayern
THEY say the quiet ones are often the most dangerous.
Ryan Sessegnon revealed on Tuesday that Jose Mourinho ordered him to be more vocal.
Young Ry is too shy, apparently, and the Special One said he wanted to hear more from him.
Well, the best of Europe has heard of him now.
Sessegnon, 19, let his football do the talking as he crowned his first Tottenham start with a goal.
It capped a fine full debut by the England Under-21 star, who had been hampered by a hamstring injury since his £25million summer switch from Fulham.
It had restricted him to just 64 minutes of first-team football this season before his appearance at the Allianz Arena.
You could have forgiven the teen had he been somewhat off the pace.
But there was no sign of ring-rustiness as he put on a display to be proud of, despite the result.
It was not perfect. He showed he still has a lot of work to do on the defensive side of his game, which almost cost Spurs a goal when Benjamin Pavard got in behind him and had a volley well saved by Paulo Gazzaniga.
But his bow was far better than many would have anticipated after so long on the sidelines — and in a Spurs side with six changes.
Deployed on the left of the attacking midfield three, the new-boy had Tottenham’s first chance when Christian Eriksen’s pass sent him down the left in the fourth minute.
Sessegnon, as he did on so many occasions, left the Bayern defenders trailing in his wake.
This time, however, the teen fired a powerful shot straight into the arms of Manuel Neuer.
He was soon sprinting off down the left again and his cross just eluded Lucas Moura in the box.
Then in the 20th minute came the moment he will remember for ever after the ball was deflected into his path.
Sessegnon took a touch and composed himself before lashing a left-footed shot past Neuer, rated one of the best keepers in the world.
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The scorer’s name echoed around the Allianz for the next few minutes as the 2,000 or so Spurs fans inside paid homage to their new hero.
It is so refreshing to hear about a teenager — especially a rich, talented one — who is not loud, arrogant and full of himself.
In terms of Sessegnon, silence is well and truly golden.
