Tottenham Hotspur marched into the FA Cup fourth round with a hard-fought victory over Premier League rivals Burnley on Friday night, and while Ange Postecoglou's side weren't at their best, victory is all that matters at this stage.
There was a certain profligacy to the hosts that will undoubtedly place a sense of unease within the squad and its supporters with Heung-min Son absent at the Asia Cup for – likely – the next month.
James Maddison's return from an ankle injury that has kept him out for nearly two months does come at the perfect time, however, with the England international an upgrade on Giovani Lo Celso, who was poor last night.
Giovani Lo Celso's game vs Burnley in numbers
Lo Celso has been an important player at Tottenham over the past few months, scoring two goals and supplying two assists (last time out in the Premier League), and providing the creative spark from the centre in Maddison's absence.
Hooked before the hour mark, the Argentinian midfielder suffered one of his less influential showings despite maintaining the technical prowess that has led to a revival on English shores.
Stat
#
Minutes played
58'
Touches
52
Accurate passes
38/40 (95%)
Key passes
1
Dribble attempts
1/1 (100%)
Ground duel %
5/9 (56%)
Tackles
2
Clearances
1
*Sourced via Sofascore
Handing him a 5/10 match score, football.london's Alasdair Gold wrote: 'A muted performance from the Argentine and he came off in the second half walking a bit gingerly.'
While his creativity was not at its apex, the blame can hardly be attributed to Lo Celso given the lifeless effort of Richarlison up front, who regressed after his recent purple patch.
Richarlison's performance vs Burnley
Richarlison has scored five goals from his past five Premier League games in a resurgence that has been most pleasing to those of a Tottenham persuasion, but he was bailed out by Pedro Porro's rifled effort late in the second half against Burnley.
As per Sofascore, the 26-year-old took two shots, failed to attempt a single dribble, only took 24 touches all night (fewer than Guglielmo Vicario between the sticks) and failed with his one attempted cross.
Furthermore, he lost all four contested duels as he failed to strike fear and formidability into the arrowhead, also offside once and committing two fouls.
TalkSPORT host Ally McCoist has said in the past that he is a "very frustrating" forward to watch at times, and this was encompassed through last night's wayward performance.
Gold was even more scathing in his post-match remarks when concerning Richarlison – whom he handed a meagre 4/10 match rating – writing: 'Fluffed a couple of early efforts when put into the box. Yes, the service into him wasn't great but he made a mess of what did come his way in the final third so the ball never really stuck up top for Spurs. Postecoglou will need more from him while Son is away.'
The Brazilian will now need to step up, and with recent news filtering through that former Chelsea striker Timo Werner is on his way to Tottenham on a six-month loan deal, he will need to ensure that he returns to top form.
That possible arrival of the German could have the one-time Everton man fearing for his place in the coming weeks, with there an argument to be made that he should be dropped ahead of next weekend's clash with Manchester United, such were his woes on Friday night.