After the midweek disappointment in Lisbon, it was imperative that Spurs returned to winning ways at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against a Leicester City side marooned to the bottom of the table and lacking in confidence. And return to winning ways we emphatically did, responding to the initial setback of Youri Tielemans’ penalty and then the blow of James Maddison’s equaliser with 6 goals.
Among these 6 goals was a hat-trick for Heung-Min Son, who has ended a goal drought that has spanned 9 games in all competitions up until yesterday’s match. Proof (if it was even necessary) that form is temporary, but class is permanent.
Whether it was Leicester’s overzealous commitment in searching for an equaliser that left spaces for us to exploit, tired defenders, or the greater fury in Son’s play in response to being left out (or a combination of all three) that prompted this hat-trick we’ll never know, but it’s great to see his barren spell end. Equally refreshing is having a genuine competition for places in the forward areas that we’ve been lacking for so long that allowed him to be benched in the first place!
More impressive for me than Son’s treble was scoring 2 set piece goals to take our tally of headed goals for the season up to 7 in the league and 9 in all competitions, having managed 8 in the league and 9 in all competitions for the entirety of the previous campaign. It’s clear that a weakness of our attacking play is being addressed, and both the players and set-piece coach Gianni Vio must take plenty of credit.
As several fans have already pointed out, the scoreline does paper over sufficient cracks, as has been the case with most of our victories this season, with Leicester looking repeatedly threatening in the first half. Even at 3-2, it felt as though there was something there for them, but again, as has so often been the case this year, our class on the break simply took the game away from them. We were simply at our finest as the spaces opened up due to the visitors’ search for an equaliser.
There was so much more to take from the match, including our defensive mishaps, the lack of a convincing wing-back pairing (a discussion we’ve had before), and the frequent rotation dilemma regarding our front three/four. I will leave that to you all to discuss, but I will finish on invoking one more food for thought: the switch to a 3-5-2 at 3-2 following Bissouma’s introduction for the final 20 minutes.
I felt this change was key to neutralising Maddison’s growing threat and pushing Son up closer to Kane, which, given the final score and the manner in which it was achieved, was more than inspired. Bissouma himself had a great 20 minutes, winning both of his 2 duels and making 2 interceptions, one of which preceded Hojbjerg’s pass to Son for his third goal.
In general, we looked really assured finishing the game with this shape and the extra midfielder on top of Son’s introduction squished the jam right out of Leicester’s doughnut. With the North London Derby coming up, against a side who love to suffocate teams with the ball and pass teams to death, it may very well be worth considering retaining a central midfield trio if Conte feels Bissouma is ready to start.
Either way, what a nice problem to have…for now, a great win sees us through to the international break, with a trip to the Emirates on the horizon and an unbeaten record on the line. COYS!
Can we take away some of their attempts on goal.
Yes Omar, I also believe Bissouma entering the match as a third central midfielder made a very positive difference to Spurs effectiveness. We were able to defend further away from our goal and therefore not get pressed back so intensely. It seems at times with the two central midfielders that there is no way out of our goal section and clearing our lines is next to impossible. It’s during these frustrating moments of continuously being attacked and not finding a way out when it seems we’re being dominated and not very good. It did feel different when Bissouma came on and changed this complexion. I have to believe the three midfield alignment would be much better to go with against Arsenal.
I keep reading about how threatening Leicester were, how many saves did Lloris actually make ? Son had four attempts on goal and scored a hat trick, that is what you want from your forwards. I have no problem with opponents who have plenty of possession but do very little with it, its the teams that only need one shot on goal that worry me.
It surprises me that so few players are 2 footed. We have the world’s best exponent in Son. We have Kane and recently Eriksen who both could score with either foot.
We also used to have the world’s worst in Lo Celso who had to drag every move to his left foot.
Is it that players never practise the art?
Bobby Charlton and George Best were top exponents and I read that the both spent hours training their other foot to match. It can be done. I think Perisic is two footed. Some players ( very few) can kick a dead ball with either foot.
Well done Son for being a master. His two goals from outside the box are a joy.
It seems some footballers would use both feet only if the name of the game were changed to feetball.
wentworth – Its not quite that simple. Being able to use your weaker foot isn’t the same as being two footed. Defoe for instance was very good at shooting with either foot but not passing with either foot. I’m guessing his focus when practicing was on shooting, reasonable enough for a striker. You can contrast that with Gascoigne who appeared to be totally two footed, there was nothing he could do with one foot he couldn’t do with the other. It was a bit like the way Ronnie O’Sullivan can score a century using either hand.
IIt is quite simple Jod. It’s called practice. I am sure certain players would be far better if they were ambi footed. I was not a top footballer but trained my left foot to match my right. I still found it difficult to strike a dead ball with left but playing left wing it was useful to be able to cross with either foot.
Defoe was excellent with both feet but an out and out striker and certainly one of our top players. He was never clued in to the offside rule.
Gazza was another great footballer who spent hours practicing volleying with both feet. Hoddle was also a two footed passer and scorer.
Very much a game of two halves
Re Leicester, without the pen (taken twice to give em a chance) where were they.
For them Madison played very well, but I still don’t like him. Too much of a Bentley character for me.
Re Spurs even with a poor first half we were still on level terms, even with a confusing disallowed goal we went on in the second half to dominate, over come and virtually destroy our opposition.
I would agree that 3 in midfield made us look better.
Is anyone concerned with the circulating stories that Conte isn’t signing past this season at Spurs and is flirting with a return to Juventus? Isn’t that club in the midst of selling players to pay off bills?
TK – If everything you read was true then Kane should be playing for Bayern right now.
Funny how posters were saying that if we persevered with the tactics we were doomed to fail. All very quiet post game.
The scoreline flatters to deceive and Son’s brilliance the a reason for that (doubters were starting to question him too, all very quiet on that front today as well), but we scored 6 goals and created plenty. Not bad for a defensive side.
We’re still unbeaten, still one point off the lead, with the second best GD in the PL.
A few notes, though:
This game was another example of why I’ll never trust Sanchez, no matter how long we go without conceding when he plays. Always an accident waiting to happen.
Having said that, Lloris did well to save the penalty and I think it was harsh from the ref to have it retaken. Such is life.
Bentancur and Hojbjerg, despite the constant criticism on VS, are regularly providing assists and goals in most games.
If it wasn’t for a guy named Haaland, 6 goals in 7 games would have Kane comfortably top of the scoring table most years.
The 2 goals we conceded were a stupid penalty given away and a world class finish nobody can do anything about. The defending is great in most games.
There’s no right or wrong way to play football. Its about whether the style suits the players you have. whether you can deal with the opposition’s tactics and how well you play. if you are up at the top of the league then clearly the style works, which doesn’t mean you can’t improve. In our case the main concerns are the speed at which we play (too slow and we struggle) and the quality of the passing, which could definitely be better than it is at the moment. Saturday with the three in midfield showed we do have a viable plan B if required.
Must agree Jod
The three in midfield was a good change up, and again agree we can be, a bit slow at times, particularly Loris releasing the ball quickly from defence.
We are much better than under JM, we’re currently slow “at times,” but not as pedestrian.
BS, I rarely disagree with you chum, but ref Sonny I do fell that little bit of time on the bench focused his mind and perhaps, fuelled his temper a bit.
When was the last time we as a team even had a crack at goal from the 18 yard area yet Sonny has a go twice and scores.
I’ve been asking for us to do this for ages, I thought Perisic may have tried this, but happy to see anyone have a go..
I think even the most ardent fan would accept that Sonny did have a drop in form and was given sevel games to improve, which he didn’t.
Last season we really had no alternative, where as this year with both Kulu and Richi we do.
So for Son to be rested, given his lack of form, for me wasn’t an issue, and again as I stated (perhaps) focused his mind, ambition, anger, what ever you call it, to compete for his place, as it isn’t nailed on.
Re mid field, agreed both Hoj and Bents, are doing well, but unfortunately at times can be overwhelmed when up against 3 or 4, so to see Bissuma in that “3” I feel certainly help our play and indeed the overall result.
I still argue that we defend too deep, which can cause those mistakes, with that said and where I agree with you, it’s very rare that teams get more than two or 3 shots on goal against us.
The issue is from those few attempts at least 1 or 2 are successful.
I still believe we are being a bit cagey ( defensive) against better teams, and in Europe, but more expansive against “lesser” sides “see Southampton, Fulham, Leicester.
Good post there Niall, got me agreeing with you! COYS
Could I say that I am really pleased with our present position in the league and delighted for Son .
Our defence appears fairly solid apart from Sanchez and Hugo’s mistake for the West Ham goal . There are many positives about the team and hopefully , as has been noted , Bissuma gets more playing time esp with a mid 3 . Our counter attacking can be exciting with good results .
However being objective there are things that I hope we will improve upon .
Most teams we have played outpass us in midfield . Even Leicester made us look 2nd best at times and if they had had a good striker the result might not have been so emphatic .
Also when we are pressed high our passing is poor creating more pressure by giving the ball away . We are also very slow when building from the back and getting out of our half .
I just feel that when we play skilful and fast passing teams we will be found out . Chelsea come to mind but they don’t appear to have replicated that performance against any other side !!
Sporting was a difficult match .
I just hope that when we play Arsenal some of my concerns are not realised and that we can produce a really good performance and beat them .
Niall – For the record I had no qualms about Son being dropped. He needed a rest and he responded in style. I was rather referring to some of the harsh criticism aimed at him because of a temporary loss of form.
It’s very different saying a player needs a rest and saying a player isn’t good enough.
Allan – our ability to pass through the press is a concern at times, agreed. Whether it is down to our current midfield options not being comfortable enough on the ball, or simply the fact that those players are still learning the system, that’s an obvious improvement point.
Where I disagree is ref your comment about struggling when we play fast passing teams. You won’t find teams much better at passing than City and Liverpool, yet we were unbeaten against those teams last year and beat City twice.
If anything, Conte’s setup seems to negate those tactics quite well.
I actually think we have a harder time against teams that sit deep and allow us to dictate play.
Ref tactics, I’m quite happy to lose the midfield battle if it means having an extra attacking player up front. It just means we have to take our chances when we get them, which you would back our front 3 to do more often than not.
Conte himself said that our strength is our attack, which is why he is happy to play 2 in midfield and 3 up front instead of the opposite.
It all comes down to taking chances. Sonny had a below par period, but if all of our strikers are in form, the tactics absolutely make sense.
Even as things stand, with some players misfiring, only City have scored more than us.
By definition if a team sit deep its harder to pass through them because there’s less space between players to pass into. We saw that last season when we defended against City on the edge of our own area, pulling their players forward then breaking at pace into empty space behind them when we won the ball. It works the other way too, if the opposition defend deep and deny space around their own goal then it’s going to be difficult for us to pass our way through. The pass has to be more precise every time. Its where I feel Liverpool have been good under Klopp, they mix up short and long passes so that the other team is never sure what’s coming next. Maybe that’s the point about the second half goals, neither Bentacur or Son relied on passing their way through a press to score.
jod – breaking down a team that sits deep is one thing. We could be better at it but most teams struggle to do it.
What I was referring to in my post above is when we play out from the back and the other team presses us high up the pitch. Our midfielders just aren’t all that comfortable dealing with that as, say the Barca midfielders are. They do other things well, but ever since Dembele left, we haven’t had a midfielder who could receive a ball in tight areas and play his way out of it. NDombele had the ability to do it but not the desire.
Liverpool are probably better at it than we are, but they’ve spent 160 million+ on their midfield, bringing in the likes of Fabinho and Thiago for absolute fortunes.
We have either shopped more frugally (Bissouma, Bentancur, Hojbjerg) or gotten it wrong when we have gone for expensive signings (GLC, NDombele). We still probably lack a world class midfielder and I assume it’s an area Conte would like to address at some point in the future. I’m sure depth was the first priority, but that the next windows will focus on further improving our 11.
Ref the second half goals, it’s a lot easier to find space when the opposing team is chasing the game.
Well argued BS
Agree, what’s the old saying something like form is temporary, class is permenent.
I do think however Son and to a degree even Kane do need rested for a full game each, perhaps not together, as we do now have the option of Kulu, Richi, Gill and when Fit Lucas.
If we could get them all into the rotation, as I fear we have something like 15 games in 40 odd days, we will need the squad fully operational and indeed match fit.
BelgianSpur – Its true our midfield is usually only two men and fairly functional but the whole point of Conte’s system is it’s the wing backs who are supposed to break the press. The problem is they aren’t really doing that. To me its less about ball skills and more about pace. The ball needs to be moved wide quicker and then the wing back needs to get down the side of the pitch quickly. We aren’t really passing the ball that quickly and the wing backs aren’t doing that much once they’ve got the ball. Having Emerson effectively playing out of position doesn’t help.
Son may have had the advantage of Leicester chasing the game but Bentacur didn’t.