How Richarlison found his groove to fire Tottenham back into title contention

No player has scored more Premier League goals than Richarlison since the start of December. Yep, you did read that right.  

The Tottenham forward has been in scintillating form as Ange Postecoglou’s men have got their season back on track after a November to forget. Spurs started the season in fine form, going on a 10-match unbeaten run to top the table. They were then winless in five, losing four of those games.  

Spurs have now won four of their last six in the Premier League and find themselves just five points off top spot.  

And while the return of a number of key players has no doubt played a part in this turnaround, Richarlison’s form has been crucial to this too.   

The 26-year-old has six goals in his last six appearances in the English top flight. He’s now on seven goals for the season, a total that only Heung-Min Son (12) can better for Spurs. Richarlison is on course to surpass the career-high 13 goals he scored on two occasions for Everton.  

The Tottenham No.9, who moved during the summer of 2022 for a fee believed to be in the region of £60m, was the subject of ridicule at times last season for his bad luck in front of goal. Premier League duo Michail Antonio and Callum Wilson mocked him on their podcast following his fourth yellow card of the season after he removed his shirt having scored an equaliser against Liverpool.  

"He's scored four times this season," Antonio said. "Three of the times he’s been offside [and] he’s taken his top off four times this season." 

"He's got four yellows – he’s almost on a suspension," Wilson added.  

Now though, the Brazil international is spearheading an unlikely title challenge for Spurs. The versatile forward has seven goals and three assists in just 1,011 minutes.  

He scored and assisted in the 2-1 win over Sheffield United earlier in the season. He assisted in wins over Liverpool and Fulham before this goalscoring run of form too.   

It all started during the 4-1 victory against Newcastle United. Richarlison netted twice. He then scored in wins over Forest, former side Everton, Bournemouth and then in the recent 2-2 draw with Manchester United. 

In games the ex-Everton forward has a goal involvement in, Spurs have picked up 22 of their 40 points. That stat alone highlights his importance.  

Following his two-goal haul in the win over Newcastle, Postecoglou praised his centre-forward.

"Obviously for Richy, getting a couple of goals as a striker that was positive for him.  

"Richy was important to us at the start of the year too, but he wasn’t fully fit. I think you could tell he was kind of restricted with his movements. At times we had to play him out wide just to get him through games. Since he’s come back, it’s fair to say he feels a lot better physically and I think that’s helped him mentally as well. Great for him to get two goals today, but it wasn’t just his goals, it was his general work-rate, energy and physicality." 

So what has sparked this renaissance?  

For starters, Richarlison is back to full fitness. "The last few months haven't been easy for me. I've had health problems. I've already spoken to the doctors and soon I would do surgery on my pubis," he said in November. Following the operation and a spell on the sidelines, the Spurs forward has been far more mobile and suddenly looks a much better fit for Postecoglou's side. 

In addition, he is averaging more shots than ever before in the Premier League. The 48-cap Brazil international is taking 3.6 shots per 90, up from the 2.4 he was averaging during his debut season with Spurs. The way Postecoglou has his team playing coupled with the fact there’s no Harry Kane this season has seemingly given the one-time Watford winger more freedom to influence things in the final third, and he’s making the most of this opportunity.  

As mentioned above, he’s taking more shots and as a result, he’s more of a threat than ever before. His Expected Goals average (0.57 per 90) has almost doubled (it was 0.3 last season) and he’s generally much more suited to this team now. So all of this looks sustainable, especially if Spurs continue to give him regular minutes. 

Goals don’t just win games. They also change opinions. It was naive to write off Richarlison last season. Spurs fans are now seeing what he’s truly capable of.