Spurs Takeaways from Tottenham Hotspur Draw at Chelsea
By Aaron Coe
Takeaway 3: Tottenham Players, Coach, and Fans Want More
Maybe the best takeaway from the match was José Mourinho afterwards talking about how disappointed and upset his locker room was with taking only a point. The team rightfully should have been upset because Chelsea was not great and with just a bit more possession and impetus Spurs could have stolen all three points.
As it were, if Lo Celso gets his cheeky chip right in added time Tottenham does take all three points. However, relying only on a mistake from the opposition to create an opportunity is not enough against top quality opposition. While Dier and Rodon were never uncomfortable on the afternoon Kurt Zouma and Thiago Silva certainly were too comfortable on the afternoon.
Tottenham did not do enough offensively to test either player. Some may question Silva’s legs and speed at this point in his career, as he is a bit long in the tooth for the topflight. As for Zouma, he is still prone to mental errors and can be pulled out of position with the right movement. While Tottenham did work to pressure the pair in the first half and tried to make them uncomfortable, Spurs did not do enough overall to put either center back off their games.
A late move for Carlos Vinicius to go up-top with Harry Kane might have put that extra pressure on Chelsea to force a mistake. Ultimately, for the defense to work, it is not just the other team making a mistake, it is often Spurs forcing that mistake to happen. Having the lengthy Brazilian to run around the pressure for the last 15 minutes of a close match like that could pay real dividends.
Please understand I am not complaining about the point or first place, as HotspurHQ is 100% behind José Mourinho and the Tottenham plan. However, Chelsea was no in no way threatening to score and even in limited possession Spurs looked the more dangerous side. It would have been nice to test Chelsea just a bit more and I believe in the future Spurs will.