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Glenn Hoddle was seriously impressed with Tottenham youngsters Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr last night

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Glenn Hoddle has praised Tottenham Hotspur midfielders Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr for their performances in the Champions League last night.

Commentating on BT Sport (14/2 9:30pm) last night, Hoddle was impressed by the young midfield pairing.

Tottenham have some work to do in the second leg of the tie, with AC Milan taking a one-goal advantage to north London.

An early Brahim Diaz goal ended up settling the match, but in reality, it was a closely fought contest.

Tottenham Hotspur v Sporting CP: Group D - UEFA Champions League
Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images

Spurs had chances for set pieces but didn’t create many clear-cut chances.

Malick Thiaw missed a golden opportunity to double Milan’s lead in the second-half, but put his point-blank header wide.

Tottenham went into the game with a serious injury crisis in midfield.

Rodrigo Bentancur was ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury picked up against Leicester.

Antonio Conte also suggested after the match that Yves Bissouma may not feature again in this campaign either.

Up stepped Skipp and Sarr, and Hoddle was really impressed with the pair who were both making their first Champions League starts.

They didn’t look out of place at the San Siro, and have shown Conte they can be relied upon in Tottenham’s biggest games.

Hoddle praises Sarr and Skipp at the San Siro

Asked on commentary how he thought Tottenham’s inexperienced midfield had fared, Hoddle said: “[Pape Matar] Sarr, he’s been excellent tonight, he really has. Him and [Oliver] Skipp have put a fantastic stint in there, shown a lot of maturity.”

Sarr really stood in the centre of the park last night, making some intelligent passes and doing his best to set up attacks.

Pat Nevin praised him for not looking overwhelmed in one of the biggest games of his career.

There are very high hopes for Oliver Skipp at Spurs, so much so that Conte stopped him from leaving on loan in January.

AC Milan v Tottenham Hotspur: Round of 16 Leg One - UEFA Champions League
Photo by Alessio Morgese/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will return from his suspension at the weekend, which will be a big relief to Tottenham fans.

The two young midfielders have both made their cases to start alongside him against West Ham.

Hoddle was very pleased with Sarr and Skipp, although the same can’t be said about some of their teammates.

It was another disappointing evening for some of Tottenham’s more senior players, who will need to step up their performances very quickly.