Why Tottenham Struggle Against Gegenpressing

Champions League Group E favorites Tottenham and Bayer Leverkusen face off in Germany for the first of two highlight matches for the tournament’s opening stage. What can the visitors expect?

Before we get to what Tottenham need to do to win, a word in general about the Bundesliga. Even a casual fan of the German first division could note that, more and more, its distinguishing factor is the press. It’s a style — referred to as gegenpressing in Germany — that is prevalent up and down the league table. Perhaps it’s not always expressed to the same degree, or used to the same ends, but it is increasingly among the most defining aspects of German football.

Any team that excels enough in that environment — as Leverkusen has — will enter the Champions or Europa League well equipped to combat precisely the advantage teams like Tottenham often wield.

There’s a great case study for this scenario, in fact. It happened in the spring, when Tottenham took on Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League quarterfinals.

Dortmund, of course, pioneered the modern gegenpressing method under Jürgen Klopp, winning two successive titles and reaching the Champions League semifinals with relatively meager means. It was a set of techniques that quickly caught fire in Germany, and indeed current Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel continues to run the team in a similar manner today.

More from Champions League

• The Fourth Agenda Cycle At Tottenham Is Insanity
• Tottenham uninspiring in Champions League exit vs AC Milan
• Tottenham Out Of Europe In Predictable And Unwatchable Style
• Bold Prediction for Tottenham vs Milan Champions League Match (Back the Spurs)
• Fixtures and foe set, as Tottenham faces AC Milan in the UCL

Against an admittedly weakened Tottenham side, such tactics were devastating. Dortmund cut through Pochettino’s lines like soft cheese, exposing the strongest defense in the Premier League in the process. They proceeded onto the semi-finals with an aggregate score of 5-1.

The problem for Tottenham then and Tuesday is the fact that any team in Germany is capable of both utilizing the high press and defending against it. Tottenham cannot make the same claim.

Yes, week in and week out Pochettino has his Tottenham side aggressively pursue the ball, disrupt defenses and combined magnificently in transition. It’s a tactical set that, with the exception of Klopp’s Liverpool and Pep Guardiola’s City, is very rare in the Premier League. As such, teams are ill prepared to defend against it, much less utilize it for themselves.

With some notable exceptions, that is. West Ham beat Tottenham just weeks before the Dortmund dismantling using a focused, organized press. Several other teams, including lowly Aston Villa, attempted to turn the tables and briefly made Tottenham look vulnerable.

These examples should be causes for concern ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Germany. Leverkusen aren’t quite on Dortmund’s level, but they are known for their aggressive and lethal attacking press. The team’s effectiveness with it is one of the primary reasons that Pochettino made Heung-min Son the third most expensive signing in club history.

Pochettino can expect a top-heavy 4-4-2 anchored heavily in the finishing of Javier Hernández and the set piece play of Hakan Calhanoglu. As such, it wouldn’t be entirely surprising to see Tottenham once again utilize a three-at-the-back defensive scheme just as they did against a similar two striker system utilized by Watford last season.

There are some reasons to be optimistic. This is not the same Leverkusen side that qualified for the Champions League last season. After both scoring and conceding ten goals in the opening seven games of the Bundesliga season, they sit in ninth place. Though they beat Dortmund 2-0 just before the international break, a strong XI fell to relegation candidates Werder Bremen over the weekend.

Next: Who Starts for Tottenham Against Bayer Leverkusen?

Expect a wiser Pochettino to make the changes necessary to combat Leverkusen’s press. This will likely involve a more densely packed midfield featuring Victor Wanyama as an anchor and Mousa Dembélé and Christian Eriksen acting as a pivot ahead of him. That will force Leverkusen wide and exploit whatever space their midfield pair leave behind them.

City was the first match that showed that Tottenham really can beat a pressing system. Beating Leverkusen away will just add weight to the argument that this team has improved significantly since last season.