Tottenham shocker: Moussa Sissoko is good now?
By Ryan Wrenn
Mauricio Pochettino granted a surprise start to Moussa Sissoko in Tottenham’s visit to Everton on Saturday, and it went much better than expected.
It wouldn’t be fair to call what we saw from Sissoko a revelation, but it does suggest that Tottenham might have a legitimate rotation option in the Frenchman.
Sissoko was named in the squad in the place of Mousa Dembélé. The Belgian was presumably rested in preparation for Borussia Dortmund’s visit to Wembley on Wednesday.
That led to the natural supposition that Sissoko might, in fact, take the place of Dembélé on the pitch as well, playing in central midfield alongside Eric Dier.
Pochettino primarily prefers to field Sissoko in a more attacking position, typically on the right side of a trident. His lack of any meaningful impact in that position made it appear as if a box-to-box role might better suit him on Saturday, as he had occasionally featured there for Newcastle.
It became clear in the opening minutes of the game that Pochettino had no intention of putting Sissoko in the middle of the park however. He started in his normal position just behind Harry Kane, while Christian Eriksen dropped back to serve as a deep-lying playmaker of sorts.
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Based on prior experience, this was not a recipe for success. Despite having earned a reputation for speed and physicality at Newcastle, Sissoko rarely demonstrated such virtues in Tottenham colors. Often he seems to be operating at a slightly slower tempo that Pochettino’s pressing game demands, and as a result looks like dead weight.
There was little reason to expect Sissoko to buck that trend on Saturday, and yet he did to some degree over the 78 minutes he had on the pitch.
His wasn’t a dramatic turn. He neither scored nor assisted any of Tottenham’s three goals. His pressing game was competent but hardly gamechanging.
What he did do well, though, was finally look dangerous on the break. Tottenham spent a record amount on him last summer because, occasionally for Newcastle and throughout France’s Euro 2016 campaign, Sissoko represented a battering ram on the pitch.
He never scored all that much, nor is he much of a creator. But he made sure defenses could not forget about him. If they did, they ran the risk of losing him on the break, or not being able to slow him down as he advanced possession up the pitch for more capable teammates to finish things off.
Saturday’s match was the first that really felt like Sissoko living up to those expectations. Everton’s backline could not leave him unmarked. When they did, he really did look like a threat going forward. He got on the end of two very dangerous looking balls that were only ruined by Sissoko being offsides.
If he can stay on defenders shoulders without getting so overanxious, Sissoko can become a real asset. Tottenham will benefit from the direct option he represents, and it’s conceivable that he might even be a central part of Pochettino’s gameplan against certain opponents with slower defenses like Everton’s.
He might not ever crack into Pochettino’s Plan A, and when Érik Lamela returns from injury his chances could dry up completely, but for now Sissoko doesn’t quite look like a lost cause.