Spurs and Brentford played out an entertaining 2-2 draw at the Gtech Community Stadium yesterday afternoon. Read the match report here, the statistical overview of proceedings here and player ratings here. For Antonio Conte’s post-match reaction, go here. Here, I will go over my conclusions from yesterday’s proceedings in West London.
First of all, despite yesterday being Spurs’ first Premier League match in over 6 weeks, it was like the team had never been away – going a goal down, then two goals down, then snatching a point (and it could have easily been all three), it was business as usual for Spurs, who have made a habit of snatching points from losing positions.
Indeed, it is now nine consecutive matches in all competitions in which Spurs have ceded the first goal, a run stretching all the way back to the defeat at Old Trafford on October 19th.
Although we don’t tend to lose these matches, as evidenced by our league-high points haul of 14 from losing positions, we will not keep getting away with these slow starts much longer, with tricky fixtures on the horizon, starting with Villa at home and Palace away over the next six days.
I am all for pacing yourself in a marathon season, which seems to have been what we were consciously doing prior to the World Cup with games coming thick and fast.
Still, now that we have the second half of the campaign to come with minimal international disruption we’ve got to start putting together more complete performances over 90 minutes as opposed to 45, or else we’ll continue to drop points carelessly. In contrast, others around us pick them up.
The second issue I had was our passivity at the back and in the middle of the park. With regards to the former, this is understandable given the absences that forced Conte’s hand – with Hugo Lloris and Cristian Romero unavailable and Ben Davies being eased in from World Cup, defensive reshuffles were unavoidable.
I personally thought Fraser Forster was dependable enough on his league debut, making a couple of good saves and generally dealt very well with Brentford’s long balls and crosses, and was unlucky with the first goal. However, Japhet Tanganga was a mess at times, and was consistently harassed by Ivan Toney, who equally ran Eric Dier ragged.
It seemed like any time they got near Toney, they either fouled him, he ran past them, or were beaten by him to one of Brentford’s 75 long balls (via SofaScore). Tanganga in particular was guilty of getting caught the wrong side of his attackers, committing three fouls on the day (again via SofaScore).
Mitigating factors must be considered however, and as far as first starts go, there are few tougher than coming up against a fully rested Toney and Bryan Mbuemo, so for the 65 minutes or so he lasted, Tanganga can at least be safe in the knowledge that there will be easier days to come and that his rustiness did not prove to be too costly for his team.
Regarding the midfield, I know that Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg got on the scoresheet to get his fifth goal of the season – an impressive tally so early on in the season for a player not renowned for his goalscoring – but him and Yves Bissouma, at least for the first hour of the match, were poor and had no answers for Brentford’s intensity.
I know there is little you can do as a midfielder when you’re outnumbered in the middle (with Brentford having three midfielders to our two) and when the opposition bypass you by playing 75 long balls, but in possession, both were guilty of constantly losing possession.
Indeed, both Bissouma and Hojbjerg lost possession 10 times each (via SofaScore) again, and started the match so close to our own box that they lost the ball in dangerous areas.
Their deep starting position made it impossible for us to move up the pitch as a unit too, leaving the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son isolated. The pace (or lack thereof) with which Bissouma in particular was moving the ball made his passes easy to intercept and allowed ample time for Brentford players to win the ball back.
In the second half, they both improved in both aspects, transforming our fortunes and helping us to avoid defeat. Firstly, both pushed further up the pitch, making Hojbjerg’s goal possible and putting Brentford on the back foot.
They also moved the ball a lot quicker, making us look more threatening, and brought our wide players into the match, giving Brentford something else to contend with, as evidenced by both goals and Kane’s last chance, which came from clever, fast build-up that fed the likes of Ivan Perisic, Clement Lenglet, and Dejan Kulusevski.
We must pick up from where we left off here starting Sunday, and hopefully, the return of Lloris, Romero, and potentially Rodrigo Bentancur, will pick up our collective levels from the start against vulnerable but dangerous opponents in Aston Villa on Sunday.