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Tottenham Wins and Advances into the Europa League’s Knockout Stage

By Alexander Balano

Jul 29, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane (18) celebrates after scoring against the MLS All Stars during the first half of the 2015 MLS All Star Game at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 29, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane (18) celebrates after scoring against the MLS All Stars during the first half of the 2015 MLS All Star Game at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tottenham Hotspur picks up a win and advances into the Europa League knockout stage with a game in-hand.

Leading up to tonight’s Europa League match at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan, against Qarabağ FK. Mauricio Pochettino said that he would continue to feature a strong starting eleven after losing to R.S.C. Anderlecht on matchday three, in a 2-1 defeat at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium in Anderlecht, Brussels.

RELATED: Key Battles: Qarabağ v Tottenham

Since that narrow 2-1 loss on October 22, Pochettino has stuck to his words for the next two Europa League fixtures, even with two big London derbies quickly following a Thursday night game. Home at Arsenal, which ended in a 1-1 draw, and now on Sunday there will be a home fixture against Chelsea. The last game in November.

Tonight’s match only saw three changes made in the starting eleven and they were Ben Davies, Ryan Mason and Kieran Trippier. Both Ben Davies and Kieran Trippier are Europa League starters at this point in the season, while Mason is more of a substitute during all competitions. So in essence, two real changes were actually made.

Of course, it would have been smart to rest more players against Qarabağ and not risk them from fatigue and/or injury. But looking at the statistics below from WhoScored, it’s doubtful that Tottenham’s backups/reserves would have thoroughly dominated the first half, let alone the entire game. While also scoring a crucial late goal and maintaining that lead with how wide open the second half ended up being.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR’S FINAL STATS OF THE GAME

  • Possession: 66%
  • Formation: 4-2-3-1
  • Shots (on goal): 24 (8)
  • Corners: 13
  • Crosses: 16
  • Passes: 683
  • Pass success: 87%
  • Tackles: 25
  • Fouls: 7
  • Yellow cards: 0
  • Red cards: 0
  • Offsides: 3
  • Assists: 1

Looking at these above stats it could suggest two things. One, Qarabağ FK are a good team but are at a disadvantage when playing against Tottenham. As for Spurs, having eight players remain in the starting lineup meant continuity — chemistry too.

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You could see that a majority, if not all, of Tottenham’s passes were on point and were successful: they reached a teammate, it created chances and put Qarabağ’s defense on its heels.

Spurs’ quick one-two passes in succession in the attacking third and their high-pressing is a byproduct of having continuity among regular starters. It’s the advantage of not rotating the lineup.

Tonight we saw from Harry Kane to Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min, they were able to play passes to each other in stride and knife through Qarabağ’s defense with ease. Defensively, Eric Dier to Ryan Mason, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld, all four knew where to cover areas that had been left unmarked if the full-backs pushed higher up the pitch. Or if Vertonghen traveled to the center circle.

With Hugo Lloris at goalkeeper, the few chances that Qarabağ created got stifled by good saves, with Spurs’ defense doing the rest to stop the defending Azerbaijan Premier League champions from doing anything else.

Now onto some quick notes to point out:

  • Harry Kane scored his second Europa League goal
  • This marks Kane’s 10th goal in all competitions
  • With Harry Kane scoring tonight, this is Kane’s ninth goal in six games
  • When Kane scores a goal, Tottenham are undefeated this season (6W-1D-0L)
  • Tom Carroll made his ninth appearance of the season, third in the Europa League
  • Clinton N’Jie made his 10th appearance of the season, fourth in the Europa League
  • Andros Townsend remained on the bench for the second consecutive game
  • Josh Onomah made his fifth consecutive appearance, third in the Europa League

Next: Tottenham are Still Paying Dele Alli's Transfer Fee

Next up, Tottenham returns back home and will be ready for Chelsea on Sunday in a 12:00 PM game. Despite the Blues’ current season in trying to defend their league title, a London derby is never going to be easy. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a tightly contested match like Arsenal’s 1-1 game rather than a 4-1 win against West Ham United. Chelsea is the final fixture of November before a busy December starts.