Truly for the past week, everyone at Tottenham had every reason to hold their heads up high. Spurs were top of the Premier League, powered by the league’s top goal scorer (Son), playmaker (Kane) and best defense, and had just come off resoundingly humiliating their North London neighbours.
Yet despite the positive feelings and overall good vibes, the week also brought along some genuine buzz kill moments, as manager Jose Mourinho attempts to guide Spurs to their first English top division title since 1961.
Firstly, The Athletic‘s doyen of tactics, Michael Cox, highlighted that Tottenham are currently outperforming their expected xG numbers and that a regression is to be expected. He writes (prior to this past weekend’s match at Palace) that Spurs had scored 23 goals, although their xG would expect 17 goals. Defensively, Spurs would have been expected to concede 12 goals, compared to the 9 goals that they actually conceded. Their defense would be 5th in the league in the xG table, rather than the best in the league as it stood. Most astonishingly, Son Heung-min was highlighted as significantly overperforming his xG. The South Korean has scored 10 in real life, when his expected goals was only 3.5. Surely, Cox and other football data-heads insist that Spurs simply cannot maintain this “mirage.”
Additionally, some football pundits such as the eminently forgettable ex Spurs’ midfielder Jamie Redknapp, and the classic “good football man”-cum-curmudgeon, Graeme Souness, commented that many of Spurs’ attacking players must be down on playing such a negative style of football. Interestingly, Spurs teams of the past had been criticized for playing an attractive attacking football, as compared to their rivals, but they lacked a general defensive solidity and winning nous that would make them legitimate title threats (is this not what critics panned Mauricio Pochettino for?). This manifested in a series of soul-crushing losses on some of biggest stages. Finally, enter a manager that has tightened up those areas of weakness, with a group of committed players, and witness the wrath of the “protectors of the proper way” to play football.
Yesterday’s 1-1 draw to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park may have served as vindication for those skeptics. Spurs’ run of good form against good teams, and clean sheets (they had not conceded a goal in their previous four Premier League matches) took a sizeable hit, as it occurred against an opponent that sat 14th in the league table prior to the match.
The match was poised to be an interesting tactical battle for Jose Mourinho, who had set his team up in his classic low-block shape in the preceding three matches, against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal. It was reasonable to assume that all three of those rivals felt comfortable playing with the ball, and that Mourinho could set up his team to play on the counter. However, Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace offered a much different proposition, themselves preferring to play Mourinho’s favoured style. Palace boasts a trio of tricky attacking players in Wilfried Zaha, Eberechi Eze and Christian Benteke, that could also be devastating on the counter, as demonstrated by their five goal explosion against West Brom in the prior week.
The match was played in a seemingly uncomfortable setting (judged as such, from the comforts of our warm, cozy home), with the rain pouring down for the entire 90 minutes. Palace also had the benefit of 2000 boisterous fans in their bandbox stadium, for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown. (Admittedly, I have always admired Selhurst Park. It has always seemed from afar as the stadium with the tightest confines, with one of the best atmospheres in the Premier League).
Spurs got the better of Palace for much of the first half, including a couple of breaks for Son (on a tidy direct ball from Alderweireld) and Steven Bergwijn (who was the beneficiary from an incisive Kane ball), which failed to result in a goal. The half was punctuated by yet another terrific goal from Harry Kane. Kane took a feed from Son in close space, just outside the Palace box, and hit a swerving right footed strike that proved tricky for Palace keeper, Vincente Guaita.
At that point, it seemed a game that Spurs would comfortably win, but as the second half wore on, they seemed sapped of their energy and any inventive attacking ideas. It would be easy to suggest that Spurs should have attacked more, and played more on the front foot in the second half. In his post match comments, Mourinho admitted that these were his exact instructions to the team.
Yet, to be fair, it was Palace that made it difficult for Spurs to play from the back, harrying Spurs backline, forcing many bad decisions and turnovers. Midfielders Hojbjerg and Sissoko were forced to defend more, and were unable to link with the attacking players. Distribution to Kane and Son was completely nullified. Crystal Palace were allowed to dictate the tempo and they continued to mount a series of chances.
The most eye catching Palace player was the electric Eze. A complete revelation, Eze was lean, elegant, with an almost balletic quality, and left Spurs’ midfield for dead on several occasions. As the second half wore on, Spurs badly faded, and were forced to concede multiple set pieces. Luckily for them, Christian Benteke continued to lack finesse in completing pitch perfect delivery, otherwise, the equalizer would have come much sooner. Eventually, in the 81st minute, Eze floated in free kick which proved a difficult knuckleball for Hugo Lloris. Jeffrey Schlupp was in proper position, to pounce on the rebound and smash it into the back of the net. Palace had equalized, and it was the first league goal Spurs had conceded since 1 November.
It felt that the goal was inevitable, based on the run of play. Although Spurs have been resolute in defending in recent weeks, they did concede late goals to Newcastle and West Ham in the first month of the season in an eerily similar fashion. In both those previous occasions, they had conceded late free kicks, near the edge of the box that resulted in a penalty (Dier’s controversial handball while trying to defend Andy Carroll of Newcastle) and a wondergoal (Manuel Lanzini’s smash and grab thump for West Ham). For a manager that harps on set piece defending and prides himself on his defensive record, seeing this equalizer come after a sequence of cheaply conceded set-pieces must have made Jose Mourinho completely (and rightfully) apoplectic at full-time.
It should be mentioned that despite their largely tepid performance in the second half, Spurs had two occasions to win the game late. In the 86th minute, Serge Aurier whipped in a hard cross, which took a quick deflection off Kane’s head. Remarkably, Guaita’s razor sharp instincts and quick movement prevented an otherwise sure goal. Palace once again relied on Guaita’s quality, when in the 93rd minute, he made an astonishing leap to deny a dipping Eric Dier free-kick from the edge of the box. The Spanish goalkeeper, who was panned for his movement and read of Kane’s first half strike, had thoroughly redeemed himself and was likely the Man of the Match by the end.
Luckily for Spurs, the disappointment of the afternoon was mitigated by the fact that all of their “Big 6” rivals dropped points during the weekend as well. Chelsea fell to Everton, while the Manchester Derby ended in an uninspiring, insipid 0-0 draw. Liverpool was flat against Fulham, and Arsenal continued through their woes, losing humiliatingly at home to Burnley.
Admittedly, Spurs did not look like a league leading side against Palace in this match. The passage of time tends to burnish our collective memories of how outstanding some of the great teams of the past were, and fill us with an apocryphal illusion that they played some version of a champagne football every time they graced a pitch. The reality remains that many great teams find ways to snatch victory in ugly games like this Palace game proved to be. Spurs nearly did, had it not been for the sublime brilliance of a Spanish goalkeeper. Yet, perhaps the skeptics like Michael Cox do provide a timely warning, that Spurs need further tactical refinement before being a true title contender. They cannot expect to play the same way against a Manchester City or Chelsea as they do against Crystal Palace, where they are rightfully expected to do more.
Championship teams show a tactical variety and an ability to get results in different ways. Perhaps a simple tactical change of playing nimble, quick ball distributors that can cope with a press, like Giovani Lo Celso or Harry Winks (rather than a heavy footed Mousa Sissoko), in front of the back line, could help provide service to the attacking players? Given the depth and variety of Mourinho’s bench, surely there is a Plan B or Plan C in the squad to handle teams that pose a significant challenge to break down.
This draw may have felt like a loss, considering the form that Spurs were on leading into the match, and the heightened expectations for what this season may bring. Yet, the way their other rivals have sputtered and have looked fatigued as the fixtures mount, Spurs have been given a true reprieve. They remain top of the table for now, and have been provided a reminder that they should seek some different ways to win games in the coming weeks.
Jaideep Kanungo
Jaikan Sport 