Tottenham: 3 takeaways from victory vs. Shkendija in Europa League

Tottenham, tactics, and other takeaways

It was noticeably clear on Sunday with the high line from Southampton the approach Spurs were going to take, particularly in the second half. Kane would drop deep, pulling a high line even higher, then the wings and midfield could run in behind and Kane could deliver. It worked to perfection on Sunday against Southampton and clearly Shkendija saw it and were committed to NOT being beaten the same way.

However, equally obvious, despite the low block from Spark, was the fact that Mourinho had a game plan to still get in behind the defense to create opportunities inside the box. Whereas Sunday the balls were a bit longer and the idea of the through ball was clearer against the high line, Thursday was a bit different, but Spurs were committed.

Much like the backdoor play in basketball, where the person with the ball waits for the defender to ball watch and then make the pass to the cutting player behind the watching defender, that was Spurs’ approach for getting behind the Shkendija defense, use the backdoor.

Whether it was Harry Winks or Davinson Sanchez trying to play Dele or Aurier behind, or Son and Steven Bergwijn trying to play Ben Davies behind, there was a clear and concerted effort to try to get behind the defense with a quick through ball as the player cut in from the wing.

While the success of this would have been much more effective had players finished their attempts, it was the impetus that led to the second goal. It was one of these little backdoor through balls that Giovani Lo Celso played to Lucas Moura that put Moura in on goal to fire off his shot. That shot was saved but the rebound went to Son, who buried it for the 2-1 Spurs lead. So, while Lo Celso did not get the assist, the approach did clearly work, you just must keep trying.

Outside of the backdoors and the high volume of crosses the tactic led too, the one overriding tactical takeaway from the match was Mourinho himself. I have never been to a Spurs practice and Amazon only showed us so much, but that game sure felt like a practice match if I have ever seen one. From moment one until they were up by two goals, the one voice clearly heard on the broadcast was that of Mourinho.

Whether it was swearing at Dele Alli and urging him to press more or asking for “Stevie” to go “up, up, up”, the constant barking of commands and demanding for more pressure from Jose was clear.

At one point just before a throw-in, you could hear Mourinho call out to the team, “come on, top quality ball movement”, which was followed by a really nice little combination between Winks and Ndombele that led the players to exchange a high-five following the play. That kind of buy-in, that kind of desire to please the coach is exactly what this team needs. I sure hope Dele is listening.