Tottenham star Reguilon is hoping victory over Thomas Tuchel’s men will kickstart an upturn in form – just as it did when he arrived in the Premier League 12 months ago
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Nuno gives his verdict after Tottenham beaten by Palace
Cricket ‘loving’ Sergio Reguilon wants to hit Chelsea for six again to kickstart another Premier League surge.
Reguilon jetted in from Spain with Gareth Bale on September 19, 2020 to sign for Spurs and made his debut 10 days later in the penalty shootout victory over the Blues in the Carabao Cup.
That win kickstarted a run of form that saw Spurs go top of the table in November and again in December before falling away.
And he hopes they can do something similar this year without the post-Christmas drop-off.
Reguilon said: “I remember in the first half, I had too much energy and the first goal was a little mistake by me.
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“But in the second half, I gave the assist to Coco [Erik Lamela] and after we won on penalties.
“It was fantastic.
“And we know that if we win this time, it would be an important victory.
“ Chelsea are playing very good football, they are the Champions League winners.
“They are doing a lot of good things and we know it will be difficult.
“But we are in our stadium, with our fans, our people and, last year, that did not happen.
“Football changes with the fans. You go to Crystal Palace, and with the fans, it all changes, with the atmosphere.
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“You run more with fans. A lot of things change.
“Last season, we started very well but in the end the team went down.
“We are trying this year that the same does not happen.”
There have been plenty of changes for Reguilon in the last 12 months, not least with Nuno Espirito Santo replacing Jose Mourinho.
Although he knew what to expect from his new boss following Sevilla’s 1-0 Europa League quarter-final win against Nuno’s old Wolves side in August 2020.
Reguilon added: “As well I played against Matt Doherty and I was joking with him about that match.
“It was so difficult because that team was very strong defensively, they were difficult, and the striker was proven in Raul Jimenez.
“I remember that match like it was yesterday.
“Playing against a Nuno team is difficult because you haven’t got space to play
“When you have the ball, they are too compact, too aggressive.
“And with the ball, the transition, you have to counter-attack because they are so dangerous.
“Here, the team are working to be compact, a team which can defend well and after that transition as quickly as possible.
“We are working but it’s not one day, one week, one month. We have to build something, something big.”
Reguilon’s adaptation to Spurs was helped by playing cricket with Dele Alli, Bale, Joe Hart and others in the gym.
And, laughing, he said: “Sorry, but I don’t understand this sport.
“All the players watch it on TV and I was, like, ‘What’s that?’
“I knew baseball but this? Three sticks there, what’s that?
“Also in the gym, they were playing and now, after months, it makes sense, finally.
“But for a year I didn’t understand this sport.”
It’s not just his cricket abilities for which Reguilon is ribbed but the fact his girlfriend, Spanish influencer Marta Diaz, has far more social media followers than he does.
“It’s not a problem, he added, laughing again. “I’m happy for her. But so many players make a joke about that.”
