Matchday: Leicester City v Tottenham
By Ryan Wrenn
Halftime
Spurs should likely be down 1-0 after Vertonghen’s blatant double foul on Mahrez in the box in the dying minutes of the half. How Martin Atkinson, mere feet away from the act, failed to appreciate it as a penalty-worthy offense we’ll never know.
Otherwise, this has been a bad half of soccer from Tottenham’s perspective. The apparently overwhelming heat probably doesn’t help, but it’s hard to find any other justification for Spurs’ uninspired play.
The backline looked empty of confidence from the opening few minutes, though they’ve somehow managed to not make a big enough mistake – beyond Vertonghen’s should-have-been penalty foul – to put Spurs behind.
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Going forward, Christian Eriksen’s absence is palpable. The defense, Eric Dier and Ryan Mason are all isolated in Tottenham’s half, unable to find any outlet for their passes as evidently all of Harry Kane, Mousa Dembélé, Nacer Chadli and Lamela are reluctant to drop deep. Were Eriksen in, he’d be the creative pivot around which the top half of Tottenham’s lineup would play, coming back to retrieve the ball and drive it forward. Without him, Tottenham look as if they’re blinding swinging at Leicester with the dull end of the blade. They badly need some finesse to pierce through Leicester’s considerable armor.
To Leicester’s credit, they have played an excellent defensive game. All ten outfield players have sat deep and frustrated and slowed Tottenham’s build up play. The fullbacks in particular have played well on the flanks, denying Chadli and Lamela’s tendency to drift wide.
How do Tottenham proceed, then? Once again, there are effectively no impact offensive subs from the bench. Tom Carroll’s passing game would be a welcome addition and it’s easy to see him coming on for Dembélé at some point. Other than that, though, Spurs fans have to hope that the players who started the game so poorly will end it strong. Somehow.
Next: Fulltime