Tottenham out-Burnley Clarets with Mourinho’s Pragmatic Approach

Tottenham Defensive Approach

The Tottenham defense took a bend and not break approach with all the Burnley long balls. Rather than battle for everyone, Spurs mixed up dueling in the air, with holding a firm line, and playing the defender behind the striker. Tottenham did okay in the air winning more aerial duels on the night than Burnley 27 to 26 and Toby Alderweireld left with a bandage and likely some stiches as a result.

The offside trap worked very well for Spurs on a couple occasions, finding Burnley offside four times.  None of those four times were more important than at 20 minutes when Barnes got behind the defense and beat Lloris. Fortunately, the line had been excellent and the lineman correctly flagged Barnes for offside. While the offside trap and the fighting for balls worked defensively, playing behind the attacking player did not.

Far too often in the match either Chris Wood or Ashley Barnes were able to get the ball at their feet with their back to goal. When they are near midfield this is not a problem. When they are in the attacking third this can cause trouble. Too often in the match Dier or Alderweireld found themselves just outside the penalty box on the attackers back, facing away from their goal. Once into the feet of Wood or Barnes, the strikers could distribute and create problems.

Moving forward, Tottenham need to work to prevent that ball into the feet as hard as they work to win the ball in the air. A more confident Burnley team might have made Spurs pay for this weak spot in the defending given the 13 shots they had on the night. Fortunately, the defense was more focused overall and pulled it out thanks to Harry Kane clearing a ball of the line.