Three Takeaways from Tottenham Victory over Ludogorets

The 200th goal for Harry Kane with Tottenham Hotspur and the three points were the headlines from the match but there were some other takeaways for Spurs.

Tottenham Hotspur did a lot right in the Thursday evening victory over Ludogorets 1945 Razgrad in Bulgaria. Harry Kane was again fantastic, grabbing his 200th club goal, and yet another assist in his 45 minutes of action. However, Kane was not the only Spur to catch the eye on the evening, as positivity from the team, made for a fun match to watch. Here are three things that stood out to us at HotspurHQ, one good, one not so good, and the other simply an observation.

Forward is Better – Winks was a Wonder

When the line-up dropped and Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko were in the double pivot, it did not have fans screaming for joy from the balconies. However, Sissoko and especially Winks came to play in a positive way, and it made for free-flowing fun for Tottenham Hotspur.

In a recent piece on Harry Winks we brought up the idea that maybe the midfielder’s days in the squad rotation were numbered. Some average to below average but tidy performances combined with more competition in a much improving squad do make the question relevant. However, if the Harry Winks from last night can show up on a regular basis, we will be talking about whose place Winks is taking in the starting XI.

Harry Winks will never be the defensive stud that Pierre-Emile Højbjerg is – yes, we know Højbjerg is much more – nor will Winks have the athleticism or tireless work rate of Moussa Sissoko. At the same time, neither Hojbjerg nor Sissoko can move the ball and pass it all over the park quite the way Winks can. Højbjerg is an excellent passer as we recently wrote about, but Winks can dominate the flow of the game when he is on like he was against Ludogorets.

From the early chip that Kane should have finished, to numerous balls through the lines, Harry Winks was consistently pushing the ball forward in the match. It is not about the completion percentage, as several Spurs completed at a higher rate than Winks impressive 87%.

Of 93 passes on the evening an impressive 43 went forward, which is 46%. Normally, we get on Winks for being too sideways or even backwards with his passes, but the 46% forward was strong and quite noticeable. Those piercing passes forward to Lo Celso in particular – who Winks targeted 15 times – help propel the team into the attack and dominate the match from the front foot.

While many will talk about the performance of the Argentine, it was about Winks getting him the ball in great positions that made much of that possible. Winks led the team in attempts by a long margin and was exceedingly positive in that work. As a fan I and critic I would trade 95% accuracy with only 20% going forward from Winks for 87% accuracy with 45+% going forward every day of the week as it helps make Spurs go.