Rodrigo Bentancur was taken off 10 minutes into the second half of the game against Manchester City last night to be replaced by Dejan Kulusevski, but the Uruguay midfielder did not take too kindly to the decision to bench him.
After a valiant first half effort from the Spurs players to not only contain Manchester City but actually put them on the ropes at times, the Lilywhites conceded shortly after half time, with Erling Haaland tapping the ball into the net on 51 minutes.
Not five minutes later, Ange Postecoglou decided to substitute Rodrigo Bentancur off for Dejan Kulusevski, to offer Spurs more going forward as they chased the game.
It was all in vain, of course, as Spurs would ultimately lose 2-0 thanks to a late penalty from Haaland.
The result puts City in the driving seat for the Premier League title now heading into the final fixtures this weekend, and leaves Tottenham unable to secure a place in the top four.
![Rodrigo Bentancur](https://www.spurs-web.com/static/uploads/1/2024/04/rodrigo-bentancur55-1024x683.jpg)
Rodrigo Bentancur rages at substitution
It was a fairly standard switch for Spurs, but Bentancur reacted very angrily to being taken off the pitch and, as you can see from the clip below, he proceeded to kick his seat on the bench repeatedly, before throwing a drink at the ground.
It is unclear why Bentancur reacted in such a way. The midfielder usually exudes a cool and composed persona both on and off the pitch, and he has not been a stranger to being replaced during games this season, either.
Spurs Web Opinion
Hopefully this is just a standard case of a player desperately wanting to stay on the pitch, and not something deeper behind the scenes. I get that Bentancur will have been frustrated at being brought off and will naturally have wanted to help the team get back into the game, but this is no way to act at all.
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