Randal Kolo Muani was the man of the hour on Wednesday night in the Champions League, and while Tottenham Hotspur fell 5-3 to reigning champions PSG, who had already beaten Spurs this season in the Supercup, the match itself was honestly a positive response from the horrid and entirely unacceptable 4-1 North London Derby loss to Arsenal.
If it were not for a litany of uncharacteristic defensive errors, Tottenham may have very well pulled off an upset victory against the Parisians. Kolo Muani was clearly the star man and main catalyst of that effort with two goals and an assist against the club that is his parent club.
Tottenham have been begging for someone to rise up above the fray as the solution at the striker position, and Kolo Muani, for this game, did just that. He's always looked a cut above the other options all around; he's just a better footballer in terms of his hold up play and creativity.
Randal Kolo Muani just needs the consistency
On Wednesday night, Kolo Muani showed that ruthless finishing Tottenham need from him, and manager Thomas Frank was filled with praise - and also gave the Frenchman some additional verve to show that level for Spurs consistently going forward.
Frank said of Kolo Muani, via Lilywhite Rose, "It was exciting. You just see the link-up play last night. The exciting thing was around the first goal, the vision with the header towards goal for Richy. His first goal, quick reactions and finishing. Then showed the pace and clinical in the finish. Now it's about doing it consistently, every game."
The big key that Frank highlights is the link up play, because Spurs need to see their striker do more to bring the wingers into the game and score goals. Kolo Muani up top with Richarlison proved to be a huge boon for the Tottenham offense, and while Richy will get credited with yet another goal, this was a perfect example of the assist provider being the real creditor of that goal.
Since he's been dealing with a dead leg and a jaw injury, Kolo Muani hasn't been able to get on the pitch enough to show that consistency, but if he can stay healthy and keep playing like this, the striker job is his. And when Dominic Solanke comes back, it could be a matter of Kolo Muani and Solanke co existing together as a striker duo, lifting each other up in the starting lineup rather than competing.