65% duels lost: Spurs duo of ‘amazing’ ace & ‘perfect’ player cost Conte badly vs Boro - opinion

This is part of The Transfer Tavern’s The Breakdown series, where we analyse the deeper impacts of every fixture.

Tottenham’s imperious 4-0 Premier League victory away to Leeds United at the weekend was the ultimate remedy to what was a tame defeat at Burnley beforehand.

Following that convincing display, one which prompted manager Antonio Conte to shower plenty of praise on some members of the Spurs squad, the Lilywhites’ inconsistency was unfortunately laid bare again in the FA Cup last night.

The Italian’s side travelled to Championship promotion-chasers Middlesbrough as they aimed to maintain a run of form whilst also keeping their hopes of winning a trophy this season alive.

Alas, following a meticulously organised defensive display from the home side, young Boro forward Josh Coburn sank Conte’s silverware dream in extra time – holding off Cristian Romero to lash a brilliant effort into the top corner.

Tottenham’s two worst players statistically on the night (SofaScore), the recently rejuvenated duo of Harry Winks and Ryan Sessegnon, endured unconvincing displays – losing 13/20 of their total duels combined, coming in at an alarming 65%.

The latter man in particular will be disappointed after his phenomenal outing against Leeds and now we analyse what this could mean for the Spurs pair.

The wing-back’s dazzling display at Elland Road last weekend, one which drew much acclaim, has unfortunately been followed by what was an underwhelming outing on Teeside.

The 21-year-old finished just behind Winks as Tottenham’s second-lowest rated starting player according to SofaScore (6.4) as Conte opted to sub his left-back with just under 10 minutes of normal time remaining.

Sessegnon cut a deeply isolated figure, even taking