Bryan Gil will be the name on the lips of all Tottenham fans on Thursday morning after his finest night in a Spurs shirt. Handed his second successive Premier League start with Antonio Conte having limited options in attack for Wednesday’s vital game at Crystal Palace, the Spaniard wowed in his 77 minutes on the pitch.
A standout player for the Lilywhites in their 4-0 triumph, Tottenham fans chanted his name to the tune of ‘Give It Up’ by KC and The Sunshine Band long after he had exited the pitch and then moments after the final whistle had sounded. For a player who has had to patiently bide his time during his first 18 months as a Tottenham player, it was a moment he will never forget.
The hope is that Bryan will continue to excel for Spurs and that his name will reverberate around Tottenham Hotspur Stadium week after week. Given minutes here and there to show what he can do by Nuno Espirito Santo and Conte in the past, the youngster has just needed that chance to show his qualities to his head coach and the Tottenham faithful.
Dejan Kulusevski’s injury has presented him with the opportunity, and it is one he has seized with both hands. Starting positively against Crystal Palace as he saw plenty of the ball, Bryan saw one tame effort blocked before cutting inside and curling another straight at Vicente Guaita.
Quiet after that with Crystal Palace taking the game to Tottenham, it was in the second half when the ex-Sevilla man really started to catch the eye and trouble Patrick Vieira’s side. Bryan played his part in Harry Kane’s first goal of the night as he showed his intelligence by taking a couple of touches to move inside to create a yard of space before playing the ball out wide to Ivan Perisic.
Moments later he got an assist to his name as he picked out Kane with a precise pass between two Palace players for the striker to arrow the ball into the bottom corner. It was such a good piece of play from the Spaniard and one he fully deserves the plaudits for.
That wasn’t the end of his influence on the game, however, as he linked up with Kane again as Son Heung-min hit their fourth and final goal of an unforgettable evening. Withdrawn in the 77th minute as Ryan Sessegnon replaced him, Bryan left the field to a kiss and a big hug from his head coach after his pivotal role in three of Tottenham’s four goals.
He deserved that reaction from Conte and it was perhaps one that signaled he is now firmly in his plans going forward. Hailed by the Spurs faithful for his performance as they sung his name in full voice, more praise was to come from Conte after the game when speaking to the press hub in his post-match press conference.
“It was really important, you know about Bryan Gil we are talking about a player who was born to play football. He understands football quickly. He’s so clever, so intelligent to understand the situation,” said Conte.