Mason praises Porro's star performance in Spurs' win over Palace

Ryan Mason was full of praise for Pedro Porro, who starred in Spurs’ victory over Crystal Palace yesterday.

The Spanish international was the star of the show, creating the winning goal for Harry Kane and almost getting on the score sheet himself, as acting head coach Mason pushed him further forward in a new 4-4-2 formation for Tottenham.

Mason switched to the 4-4-2, encouraging his team to play higher up the pitch to counter Palace’s individual technicians Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and Wilfried Zaha.

And the move certainly benefitted Porro, who crossed for Kane’s winner on the stroke of half-time and also created a great chance for Cristian Romero which was headed against the Palace crossbar earlier in the half.

In the second period his free-kick from the left was inches away from finding the bottom corner as he continued to cause the Eagles problems down both flanks.

Speaking after Spurs’ 1-0 win yesterday, Mason said: “Ultimately we wanted to engage Palace higher up the pitch because we know they have some individual brilliance, and we wanted to avoid them getting the ball in our final third and in the box running at us.

“So we added a sixth man into the press and tried to be a bit more aggressive and I have to compliment the players because when you’ve been working in a certain way for so long to make that change at this stage of the season it’s very positive for me.

“(Porro) affected the game today with and without the ball. That was the job and the task that we set him. I’m very pleased. Very pleased with his performance for the team because we saw a desire to help his team-mate from a defensive point of view but also not losing that attacking threat that we wanted him to give us, and he’s been part of a clean sheet for the group but also got the assist for Harry, which is good for him.

“He has been quite effective for us, even in the previous system. He’s scored goals, he’s created chances. He’s a good guy, he works hard, he fights for the team and I thought we saw that today.”

Tottenham’s win moves them up to sixth, although they have played three games more than Brighton, who are just two points behind the north Londoners.

Kane’s 27th goal of the season was his 209th Premier League strike, meaning he is now 51 goals behind Alana Shearer’s record.

But Mason refused to be drawn on records. He said: “We can sit here all day and speak about Harry. Naturally people see the goals, the records, but probably what doesn’t get touched upon enough is the individual brilliance from a technical point of view.

“Most importantly the team player, the humility. He’s humble, he works hard, he fights for the team. He’s recovering, he’s working back. He’s an example for any young player to see a top player and how to act. We’re very lucky to have him, we know that, we feel it every day.

“I don't like speaking too much about the future because from personal experience you can’t plan too far ahead in football terms and in life. You’ve got to be in the moment.

“Harry is certainly one player who is focused in every game and he gives the best version of himself every time he’s out on that football pitch, whether it’s on the training ground or match day.

“Hopefully Harry continues to play and I’m sure he’ll continue to score goals.”

Picture: Charlie Stong