results?
Spurs won their fourth straight game at the new stadium, the first time they’re managed that, with a 3-0 thumping of Leicester, that saw more hanging back and counters.
Is it Jose’s plan to sit back and hit teams on the break? They’ve done it for the last four games, which has brought about three victories and a draw, scoring eight and conceding two, with Harry back on the scoresheet with his fourth.
I don’t know if it’s a plan you really want to use against Bournemouth, where it didn’t work, but against Leicester it’s something that should work because of the style that’s best for them to play.
From their title winning season through to now, you feel Leicester are better sitting back and hitting teams on the break. It suits them to hit Vardy with a long ball and for him to run past a high defence. Passing the ball in front of a packed defence not so much.
Yes they had a number of shots, twice as many as Spurs on target but there was just a couple of outstanding saves from Hugo – one low in the corner from Perez and a free kick, tipped over after a deflection. They just didn’t look as dangerous playing this game as they do on the break.
It worked for Spurs with three excellent goals taken on the break that saw Harry closer to the Harry we know from previous seasons. The first started with what we know Harry can do when he’s not scoring, playing great passes. Curling ball with the outside of his foot to Son, as he made his way to the area, Harry was powering down the middle of the park, as Son got ready for a shot, Kane had distracted his defender enough to deflect Son’s shot past Schmeichel.
The second came, as the first, after more Leicester pressure Moura headed away a poor corner, son won the ball back to Lo Celso as he ran up field so did Son, Moura and Harry. Another fast counter, where no one stopped, no one passed sideways. Passed forward to Moura, Kane made a great run, played in perfectly by Moura, Kane’s first time left foot shot doubled the lead.
Three minutes later and it was wash, rinse, repeat. Leicester with the ball, when Moura takes it off them and the charge up field is on. The ball to Kane pushes him wide but he cuts back in on his right and curls it past the keeper. A goal we’ve seen so many times from Harry and it never tires.
Harry looked quicker than he has of late, hell this whole season, never mind just the restart.
Leicester have been on a downward spiral since the restart and them not being set up for this type of game helped. You don’t know how it’ll work against others, especially when you have two players who contribute nothing to proceedings. I mean when Winks has a passing percent in the 90s he offers nothing so when it’s mid 70s and the same as Sissoko he offers even less.
With this style of play, you need your midfielders to either win the ball or get it moving quickly forward. Well, as Winks didn’t even attempt a tackle – Sissoko attempted one… he failed, Lo Celso had 5 from 7 attempts – and he’s not gonna pass the ball forwards, quickly for breaks like these, then what’s the point.
Play these last few games with two good midfielders and maybe the fans might put up for it for a whole season.
That loss to Sheffield and the draw with Bournemouth really look bad now. Should have been fighting for a top four place for the last game of the season. The Europa will be a long grind and the players should be ready for it as Jose will want to win it and probably won’t take the attitude to it as other managers have.
