Christian Eriksen shines in otherwise gloomy FA Cup day for Tottenham

Christian Eriksen, Spurs brightest light in an otherwise gloomy FA Cup day, sprayed the ball around with pinpoint precision on the expansive Wembley pitch.  

Like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, Eriksen creates stunning canvasses from scratch. He was the indispensable component in Spurs goals, putting the ball on a plate for both Tottenham semi-final goals.

Eriksen’s Kane offering

The first, an in-swinger from his left boot, dipped and curled invitingly, with Kane the only potential suitor. Take nothing away from Kane, who dropped down to his knee to get the most deft of decisive touches.

It was a delivery deserving of such an extraordinarily classy finish. Eriksen, with a drop of his shoulder, created enough space to fling it goal-ward. It was a sign of things to come from the artistic Dane.

Eriksen express Dele delivery

Eriksen hadn’t quite filled his boots, the inventive midfielder bettering his first-half delivery with an outlandish 30-yard through-ball-turned cross on Spurs second.

Put on a string for Dele, Eriksen’s ball almost defied physics. Struck with fierce pace, the ball, like a bald eagle in pursuit of his prey, nose-dived, dropping in-stride to a grateful Dele.

For Dele, the finish was all about timing. There was more than enough zip and whip on the delivery for Dele to concern himself with adding any power. Accepting Eriken’s gift with aplomb, Dele timed his point-blank half volley to perfection. It was a world-class goal from two élite players.

In all the leagues around the world, you won’t find a better assist this season. A football cannot be struck more purely.

Those two assists alone are enough for Eriksen to take man of the match plaudits. While the aforementioned assists were Eriksen’s headlining moments, they were by no means his only contributions.

Next: Tottenham player ratings in FA Cup semi-final loss

Eriksen, with 93 touches, had more than any other Spurs player. According to WhoScored, the 25-year-old made six key passes, had three attempted shots – one of which on target – and completed 82.5 percent of his passes, many of which were of the highest degree of difficulty.

Referred to sometimes as theatres, football pitches provide a canvas for players to leave their artistic impressions. Artist Henry David Thoreau once famously said, “This world is but a canvas to our imagination.”

Wembley acted as Eriksen’s canvass, where his virtuoso imagination and unerring execution was matched only by the scale of the theatre.

Eriksen, even amidst inconsolable despair, left his indelible impression.