Gabby Agbonlahor tore into Richarlison after Tottenham were held to a draw by Leeds United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, saying the striker was the slowest player in the Premier League and calling his display horrendous.
Tottenham had gone in front through Mathys Tel early in the second half, but Leeds levelled after Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted a penalty, leaving the home side to settle for a point in a match that did little to ease the pressure around the club.
Agbonlahor made the comments on talkSPORT Breakfast after the final whistle, and he did not soften his view. He said he would bet anyone that Richarlison was the slowest player in the league and argued the performance was nowhere near good enough for a side fighting to finish the season safely.
Richarlison remains Tottenham's top scorer this season with 10 goals, which makes the criticism sharper, not softer. A forward delivering that many goals is usually part of the answer, not the problem, but this was a night when Tottenham's attack produced too little when it mattered.
The match also brought James Maddison back into the picture for the first time this season. The midfielder came on as a substitute after recovering from the ACL injury he suffered in pre-season, a rare bit of encouragement for Tottenham on a night that otherwise underlined how fragile they still look.
That was the thread Agbonlahor kept returning to. He said Tottenham need Maddison and welcomed his return, while also taking aim at Conor Gallagher's performance and saying the midfielder was a very different player from the one seen at Crystal Palace and Chelsea, adding that he was defensively so poor as well.
The result left Tottenham only two points above the relegation zone with two matches remaining, a position that turns every dropped point into a live issue. They have one win in their last 13 meetings with Chelsea, and their next league game is a trip to Stamford Bridge that now carries more weight than a routine fixture ever should.
For Tottenham, the concern is no longer just whether they can finish strongly. It is whether the gap beneath them is still large enough to survive the final two games without another night like this one.
