Turnovers Change the Game for Tottenham versus Leeds

Leeds United came out firing versus Tottenham Hotspur but a series of turnovers from the Peacocks tilted the game in Spurs favor and that was that.

In American football, there is typically no more critical statistic than turnovers. Usually, the team that turns the ball over the least is the one that is going to win the game. While ‘turnovers’ are not really kept as a broad statistic like that in European football, the concept still applies, and it was a series of turnovers that changed the game in favor of Tottenham, as Spurs topped Leeds 3-0.

Fouls are Turnovers

The first turnover was not one that you typically think of, but is a turnover all the same, it was a foul. Much like the foul at about 15 minutes turned the tide for Leicester against Tottenham a few weeks back, it was a Raphina foul against Ben Davies that changed the game for Spurs. The foul was innocuous enough, but what it did was give Tottenham a free kick opportunity, which led to a lot of people pushing up into the box.

Since Højbjerg, Dier, and others were already up high, Spurs were much more easily able to apply pressure with a higher defensive line. Prior to that, the back line had difficulty pulling up the pitch. This one action forced everyone on both teams into the Leeds defensive end and put Tottenham onto the front foot. The free kick itself led to a little Kane backheel to Son and eventually Kane blasting over, but the players and ball had changed direction sufficiently enough for Tottenham to get into the game.

Interceptions Lead to Goals

The second big turnover was much more obvious. It was the moment when Leeds keeper Illan Meslier passed the ball to Harry Winks, who made the pass into Steven Bergwijn’s path drawing the penalty kick to open scoring. That poor pass was the result of Spurs pressure on the defense, particularly from Steven Bergwijn and Son Heung-Min. The turnover also came after 10+ minutes of Tottenham on the front foot following what ended up being a couple free kick opportunities and Spurs first extend spells of possession.

Three things happened once Winks intercepted the pass. First Winks immediately went forward and toward the goal forcing Raphina to step up to him. Second Harry Kane took a couple steps toward the goal which drew two defenders, including the one inside of Steven Bergwijn. And three, Bergwijn, got inside Alioski and used the space created by Kane to find a crease for accepting the pass and drawing the foul. Perfect execution from Winks, Kane, and Bergwijn following the turnover.

Loose Ball Recoveries Lead to Goals

The third turnover, like the second, led directly to a Tottenham goal and left Spurs in pole position going into halftime. This one was by recovery machine Pierre Højbjerg who managed to recover the ball in the attacking half. Højbjerg found Kane, and Kane found Son, and Son of course scored for the 2-0 lead.

The play was more of a recovery than a direct turnover, as things started with a Hugo Lloris punt that Steven Bergwijn fought for but did not win. However, the ball went bouncing near midfield and Højbjerg was able to steal the ball off a Leeds player. Once he got the ball to Kane, Harry and Sonny knew exactly what to do. While not a classic turnover, a loose ball recovery in the attacking half often leads to good things.

There were more turnovers by both teams during the half, it was Tottenham taking advantage of the opportunities three big first-half turnovers presented, which helped spur Tottenham to victory. Spurs recognizing and leveraging an opportunity to push forward helped to balance the game. Then the two defensive midfielders doing what they are supposed to do – creating turnovers and being smart with the subsequent possession – led directly to the first two goals. Capitalizing on turnovers is important and Spurs did just that on Saturday.