Peter Crouch hammers Tottenham goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga for ‘assault’ against Chelsea

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Peter Crouch has told BBC one’s Match of the Day 2 that Paulo Gazzaniga was guilty of “assault” against Chelsea and cannot understand why the Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper did not simply catch the ball – when conceding a penalty.

Gazzaniga, 27, conceded a penalty after a simple long ball was played over the top of the Tottenham defence. For what seemed as though a simple catch for Gazzaniga, the pressure from Marcos Alonso saw the Argentine stopper panic.

Instead of using his hands, Gazzaniga elected to lead with his foot and clear the ball with his foot. The kung-fu-style kick saw Gazzaniga miss the ball, and instead take out Marcos Alonso. Referee Anthony Taylor initially gave a free-kick to Spurs.

But VAR overruled his decision, awarding a penalty and former Tottenham striker Crouch was astounded at Taylor’s decision – but he was even more shocked at Gazzaniga’s choice to produce a flying kick, instead of catching it.

“It was astounding not to award a penalty, it was an assault that took place. I don’t know why he didn’t just catch it. Sanchez straight away puts his hands on his head, he knows it is a penalty. Thankfully, with VAR, it got the right decision,” Crouch said.

TBR’s view – Gazzaniga error shows how much Spurs miss Hugo Lloris

Lloris has come in for plenty of criticism during his time at Tottenham – especially in the last couple of seasons. But the Spurs skipper is becoming sorely missed, with £20,000-a-week (Spotrac) Gazzaniga now beginning to show cracks in his form.

Just one clean sheet in Jose Mourinho’s eight games in charge is a poor stat. Though it is not all down to Gazzaniga, the Argentine should shoulder the blame somewhat. He has not been good enough, and Lloris will take over in the new year.