Win over Manchester City Shows Tottenham Hotspur Defence Is Improving
WHITE HART LANE, London — Resolute. Organised. Committed. These are not words that have frequently been associated with Tottenham Hotspur defenders in recent times. Certainly not together.
Boy, do their names deserve to be affixed with those adjectives right now, not just for their work shutting down a fearsome opposition attack in Tottenham's 4-1 win over Manchester City on Saturday but also for a run of four Premier League performances that has seen them improve considerably since the beginning of the season.
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That start, in case you need reminding, was three games without a win. Two of which featured blown leads that ultimately saw them draw 2-2 with Stoke City and 1-1 with Leicester City.
The newly paired centre-back duo of Belgium internationals Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen were both notably culpable at different points—the former for both giving away a penalty and failing to track Mame Biram Diouf in the buildup to his equaliser for the Potters, and the latter too loosely defending Riyad Mahrez as he struck moments after Dele Alli's opener at the King Power Stadium a week later.
In the larger context of Spurs' struggles at the back last season—they were the top half's most porous team—there was reason to be concerned previous issues of laxness and poor concentration were still plaguing them. Had that defence faced an in-form Man City, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and Sergio Aguero might have been contemplating substantial additions to the below statistics.
The back four that faced Manuel Pellegrini's side—with full-backs Kyle Walker and Ben Davies either side of the aforementioned central defenders—was coming off three league clean sheets in a row.
Informed by both the good and bad of their mixed August, they have looked increasingly cohesive in their run of games together—broken up only by Danny Rose's selection ahead of Davies in the 0-0 with Everton—impetuousness and a lack of individual responsibility giving way to more considered marshaling and greater interest in the actions of colleagues.
Walker's involvement in Kevin De Bruyne's first-half goal that ended their sequence without conceding was more an attacking mishap, a misplaced pass as Tottenham attempted to work an opening from a short corner out right that led to a pinpoint counter.
When it came to standing up as a back line to the opposition, though, this was as good as head coach Mauricio Pochettino could have hoped to see against an attack of Man City's calibre.
Buoyed by the realisation actually paying attention to their usual tormentor-in-chief, Aguero, gave them a better chance of stopping him—it has only taken the club a few years to cotton on—the Argentinian was shackled particularly effectively.
The striker is not at peak form, scoring just twice so far this season, but stopping him from adding to his 10 goals in his previous seven games against them is still something to be pleased with. His only real shooting effort was from outside the penalty area after 18 minutes, which was saved low by Lloris.
The supremely skillful Aguero naturally made inroads into the Spurs box, but he was diligently tracked rather than hounded. Davies, Alderweireld and Vertonghen all manoeuvering him into dead ends at various points, confident their team-mates were nearby if the ball was moved quickly elsewhere.
Here, Spurs appear to have learned from the 4-1 thrashing at the Etihad Stadium a year ago, when clumsy attempts to dispossess Frank Lampard and David Silva cost them penalties, Aguero latterly revelling in the nerves this created.
Standing off City slightly did pose risks. Like Crystal Palace's Yohan Cabaye and Bakary Sako were able to a week earlier, Raheem Sterling and second-half substitute Jesus Navas found pockets of space to launch testing efforts on goal. Lloris tipped over a stinging shot from the Spaniard at 3-1 when a goal for City might have seen them rejuvenated.
While it was not reflected in tackling statistics—just two between them, per Squawka—their impressive blocking, clearances and interceptions numbers displayed the success of Spurs' strategy. Davies (eight blocks and 12 clearances) and Walker (six interceptions and four clearances) did as well as realistically could have been hoped for defending their respective flanks. Alderweireld and Vertonghen provided sound backing when the visitors slipped by.
"Yes, [the] first half was difficult. [It] wasn’t easy," admitted Pochettino in his post-match press conference. "I think it was difficult for us to find the way to play against them, but we fixed some problems at half-time and in the second half we played much better."
The greater gusto with which Spurs attacked and combated City in the second-half—also referred to by the scorer of Spurs' equaliser, Eric Dier, above—saw the side's attack come to the fore.
Erik Lamela set up Alderweireld's lead-securing header and then sealed the win after Harry Kane had netted his first goal of the season. Christian Eriksen and substitute Clinton Njie contributed significantly to those third and fourth goals.
This work naturally captured the imagination and the headlines. The alertness and competitiveness with which Spurs continued to defend during this breathtaking evisceration of the campaign's pace-setters—helping set the tone between goals—is just as promising for the side's future prospects, though.
Once Kane came into the team last season, the Lilywhites were up there with the top-flight's best going forward. Being able to stop opponents at the other end more consistently and more convincingly might have seen Spurs push on even further than their eventual fifth-place finish. A more well-rounded team effort this time round could well deliver that progression.
"I think that it’s good for them to believe in the way that we play and our philosophy," Pochettino said of his players, though he was also careful to urge for "calm because [it is] only the beginning of the season [and] nothing has happened yet, [and] it’s a long way."
He is right. It only takes a bad day or two at the back, an incomprehensible mistake or miscommunication, for previous grumbles to emerge again.
How a Kieran Trippier or Kevin Wimmer coming in would affect the balance that has been established will almost certainly be tested at some point (there are few doubts over Rose here). The demands of a schedule that intensifies from November onward and the prospect of tougher all-round battles than the slightly underperforming City offered will give us a better idea of just how strong this Spurs defence is too.
For now, Tottenham can reflect positively on the work they have done to improve their ability to keep goals out. Pochettino has long been a proponent of a team defending collectively, and his side did that for sure.
The contributions of others such as Lloris and central midfielders Alli and Dier should not be overlooked. But they would undoubtedly count for less if their defence had not got their act together as well as it has of late.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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