Serge Aurier has ‘let Spurs down far too often’ as Rio Ferdinand tears into Tottenham defender for Juventus display
Tottenham defender conceded a needless penalty on the stroke of half-time that Gonzalo Higuain failed to convert, but that has not stopped critics laying into the Ivory Coast international
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Serge Aurier has not even been at Tottenham Hotspur for a season yet, but former England captain Rio Ferdinand has labelled the defender “rash” and believes that he has “let his team down far too often” after giving away a needless penalty in the enthralling 2-2 Champions League draw with Juventus.
Spurs has already conceded twice in the space of eight minutes in Turin, with Gonzalo Higuain scoring twice to put the home side into a commanding lead, and the outlook already looked bleak when Ben Davies conceded a penalty to hand the Argentina international his second on a plate.
The fast start from Juventus appeared to kick Spurs into live and they soon responded through Harry Kane with 10 minutes remaining in the first half, but there was still time for Aurier to recklessly dive in on Douglas Costa with the final play before half-time – only for Higuain to thunder the ball into the crossbar and let the Ivory Coast international off the hook.
That did not stop Ferdinand from laying into the right-back though, and with Aurier going on to pick up a booking in the second half that rules him out of the second leg at Wembley in three weeks’ time, he gave a scathing assessment of Aurier’s time at Tottenham so far.
“As a defender I have never really rated Aurier,” Ferdinand said on BT Sport. “He’s rash and he’s let his team down far too often.”
Aurier has already been sent off once before this season since joining Spurs from Paris Saint-Germain, with the Ivorian picking up two bookings in the 3-2 victory over West Ham last September. He also conceded a penalty in the 1-1 draw with Real Madrid during the group stages of the Champions League when Tottenham saw their early lead slip away.
Another former England skipper in Steven Gerrard agreed with Ferdinand’s comments, and added that Aurier should feel “very lucky” that the tie remains alive heading to the second leg thanks to Spurs’ two away goals that puts them in the box seat.
“Spurs after an awful start showed fantastic maturity, the reaction and response was huge,” Ferdinand said.
“The concentration at this level has to be on the money from minute one but it was a shambles. All of the back four outside of the post for the first goal is criminal.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments