How Spurs Won: Home vs Norwich

The 3-0 Spurs win over Norwich was admittedly not all that shocking.

Even with the Canaries’ win over Manchester United last week, it didn’t seem like they’d be all that much of a threat to Spurs, especially after Mauricio Pochettino chose to name a full strength starting XI. Considering the ostensibly more difficult match against Watford on Monday, this seemed like a bold move.

It was a bold move that paid off, however. Spurs’ starters made short work of a bamboozled Norwich midfield and defense, and the win seemed locked in well before the first half was over with.

There was an arguably bolder move made by Pochettino that was evident only after kick off. At first it looked as if Érik Lamela and Christian Eriksen had simply switched flanks, with the Argentine occupying the left and the Dane the right. There was something more going on though, and it was largest manifested in how well Dele Alli played.

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Eriksen has been underwhelming for several weeks now, and has been hinting on a decline for the past few months. Why that is the case is difficult to say. Though still turning in a good amount of accurate passes and setting up a healthy amount of shots, the Dane’s end production simply hasn’t been there.

Either as an expression of this downturn in form or as a reaction to it, Eriksen’s contribution on Saturday came from much deeper than usual, so much so that he often seemed closer to be in Eric Dier and Mousa Dembélé’s realm of the pitch than he was to the attack. He set up five shots on goal – of which two were from corners – but recorded zero shots for himself, accurate or otherwise.

That attack ended up being composed of Alli, Lamela and Harry Kane, often bundled together toward the center of the pitch and playing balls off of one another. That alone wasn’t exceptionally strange – a narrow attack focused on quick transitions is Spurs’ cornerstone – though it proved about as effective as it has all season.

Part of it came down to just how porous Norwich were in multiple stages of play. Dembélé and Dier had no issue finding space to pass forward, and Eriksen capitalized off of that vast gulf of pitch left deep in Norwich’s midfield.

The attacking trio often began their attack from Norwich’s deep midfield area, spreading out as they got closer to the penalty area. Kane was the primary end point of their interplay, but Alli got his fair share of chances as well. Five of Tottenham’s impressive ten shots on target came from either him or Kane.

While Eriksen mixed things up – intentionally or otherwise – it was Alli who seemed to undergo the most change in this match. Often playing as a link up man between midfield and attack or as a pseudo-secondary striker, here Alli turned in a game that might best be described as a playmaker.

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He provided the pass that Kane earned his penalty from and then set up Kane’s second later in the first half. His passing, vision and positioning proved to be the key pivot between Lamela and Eriksen’s deeper playmaking efforts and Kane’s finishing.

Is this a sign of things to come? It’s hard to say. Pochettino was trying something new because, frankly, he could. Norwich looked pushovers well before the opening whistle blew. That his gambit worked so well is encouraging but only in a limited way. Yes, the tactics worked, but Norwich had a big part in how potent they ended up being.