After a blistering and mesmerizing start to the season. Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs recently came to an abrupt standstill after a nightmare-inducing game against Chelsea where they saw 2 red cards being shown firstly to Cristian Romero and then to Destiny Udogie if it couldn’t get any worse arguably their two best performers this season James Maddison and Mickey Van De Ven were hit with long term injuries that would see them sidelined to at least January.
A 1-4 thumping then ensued Spurs would then face back-to-back defeats to both Wolves and Aston Villa and it was clear the absences of both Maddison and Van De Ven were having a big impact on Spurs however Spurs marched on to their next game where they would come up against … Man City.
Everything pointed to not only a Spurs defeat but a Spurs thumping. 2 Full-backs starting at centre half against the likes of Erling Haaland surely spells disaster right? Well not exactly and here’s why.
Spurs’ biggest strength this season has been their creative and expansive style of play since the loss of Harry Kane with goals being able to come from anywhere on the pitch and their game against Man City was no different with 3 different goals scorers scoring for Spurs that being Heung-Min Son, Giovani Lo Celso And Dejan Kulusevski.
However, Spurs struggled early on in the game against City due to Man City’s narrow aggressive block forcing Tottenham to play the ball back and limiting the amount of time players like Kulusevski and Lo Celso could get on the ball while allowing less technically gifted players like Emerson Royal and Ben Davies more time on the ball where they could then pressure and exploit them this was seen several times throughout the game.
Embed from Getty ImagesCity also relied on the presence of Jeremy Doku who is in blistering form. Doku has seen several times trying to exploit Spurs’ desire to remain compact by stretching the formation and forcing Full-Back Pedro Porro into one-on-one situations.
Doku was a constant threat in the first half hitting the crossbar early on and setting up City’s second goal. Spurs managed to keep the scoreline to a respectable 2-1 in the first half with City missing notable chances specifically Erling Haaland who missed what was essentially a tap-in.
The second half began and the tactical substitution of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg for Bryan Gil saw Dejan Kulusevski shift out onto the right side while Lo Celso was pushed further forward into the number 10 position this tactical substitution along with an injury to Doku changed the game for Spurs
Spurs managed to gain more possession and the injury to Doku allowed Spurs to remain more compact. The advancement of Lo Celso also allowed him to get further forward and assist in more chances where he eventually managed to get Tottenham’s second goal where he managed to unleash a beautiful strike into the bottom left-hand corner.
The game wasn’t without controversy however with Grealish seemingly through on goal the referee called play back which caused outrage with Erling Haaland seemingly possessed. However, the full-time whistle blew and somehow Spurs had gained not only a point but a massive boost in confidence after 3 losses back to back. Now the question has to be asked for Spurs what’s next?
Well in a change of fortunes for Spurs. Cristian Romero should return to the Spurs XI after his 3-game suspension this addition should be well welcomed not only by Ange Postecoglou but also by Spurs fans after their recent shakiness at the back in recent games. Spurs welcome West Ham to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this coming Thursday where they will hope to return to winning ways.
Spurs fans will also be looking ahead to January where they hope Spurs can get some vital signings through the window. Spurs in recent weeks have been heavily linked with former Celtic player Jota who hasn’t been registered to play in the Saudi League and will be looking for a move away on loan. I’m sure Spurs fans will also be hoping for another centre-half. However, it remains to be seen if any of these targets will be met.
Postecoglou’s appointment has taken the Premier League by storm and he has defied the expectations even of his biggest admirers. Whatever happens next you can be assured that the competition in the premier league has just gone up a level and expect a lot more fireworks this season.
