Harry Kane endured a tough evening as Tottenham Hotspur returned to action in the Premier League on Friday night.
Spurs took on Manchester United in north London in their first game after the resumption of the top-flight.
The game ended in a 1-1 draw; Steven Bergwijn scored Spurs’ goal before Bruno Fernandes equalised from the penalty spot.
Kane played the entire 90 minutes, despite manager Jose Mourinho holding the option to make five substitutions.
Indeed, the ex-Chelsea boss made just two alterations, introducing Giovani Lo Celso and Gedson Fernandes from the bench.
However, Kane appeared to be carrying a little rust as, per WhoScored, he touched the ball just 36 times.
That was the lowest number of any outfield player who completed the entire 90 minutes; Moussa Sissoko and Davinson Sanchez both had 39 touches.
The England striker had one shot on goal throughout the encounter – it was blocked – while he completed just 15 of his 25 attempted passes.
He also failed to record a dribble and did not make a key pass.
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
This was a baffling decision from Mourinho.
Kane looked to be wildly off the pace as the game continued and his touches only got worse as the minutes ticked by.
As mentioned, the Portuguese had the option to make five subs but opted against it despite having the likes of Tanguy Ndombele, Ryan Sessegnon, and Oliver Skipp on the bench.
Admittedly, there isn’t an out-and-out striker that Spurs could have called on but even so, there were options.
Mourinho could well have introduced Ndombele for Kane and potentially moved Son Heung-Min through the middle, but he left the striker ploughing something of a lone furrow throughout the 90 minutes.
It isn’t really Kane’s fault; a substitution was desperately needed.