Tottenham Hotspur were staring down the barrel of a 2-0 defeat against known bogey team Brighton this weekend, as they were completely listless and devoid of any sort of real attacking threat for the majority of the match.
Enter Xavi Simons. For some inexplicable reason, the most expensive Spurs summer signing spent the opening stanza on the sidelines, but he immediately rectified that mistake by spurring the comeback.
Simons was, by far and away, the most dangerous player on the pitch, and his inclusion opened up the entire offense, helping bring the best out of star right winger Mohammed Kudus as Spurs finished the match with a 2-2 draw.
After the game, Tottenham manager Thomas Frank spoke a little bit about his new star attacking midfielder, and it's pretty clear that he's learned his lesson about utilizing the former RB Leipzig star.
The proof is in the pudding for Thomas Frank
Here's what Frank said, via Football.London's Alasdair Gold, "I'm very, very pleased with that. I think Xavi came in and did exactly what we thought he could do in that 10 position."
Tottenham initially played Simons on the left wing, which was frustrating to watch. Simons's impact on the game was vastly curtailed out wide, and it was patently obvious to Spurs supporters that Simons is not a solution on the left wing.
Spurs fans were excited to see Simons back at the 10, but they had to wait until around an hour into the Brighton game to see that transpire. But after the way Simons dazzled in his appearance off the bench and literally changed the game for Tottenham, Frank surely won't make the same mistake twice.
In fact, there are two mistakes it appears Frank has learned from. The first is simply not playing Simons at all in an important game against a top team like Brighton. And the second is his initial mistake of shoehorning Simons as a left winger instead of giving him the keys to the kingdom in the middle of the park as the No. 10.
Even if Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert are flawed youngsters and still very much growing, it would be preferable to roll the dice on one of those two on the left wings instead of losing the game-changing abilities of Simons as a progressor and creator in central areas.
Frank is an amazing manager, but he's still learning how to fit his ideas into the team and how his player play. He just arrived. But he learns quickly, as evidenced by his thoughts on Simons's big day at Brighton.