Why Conceding against Palace was Good for Tottenham Hotspur

Several times this season Tottenham Hotspur has conceded just before the break and have paid the price – see Liverpool and Leicester City matches. While it may sound counterintuitive and at the time it happened did not seem that way, however, conceding to Crystal Palace was important for Tottenham Hotspur.

Tottenham Galvanized by Goal

Oh to be a fly on the wall at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday in the home locker room at halftime. Tottenham had held the majority of the possession – 64/36 and had completed more than twice as many passes 318 to 157 according to whoscored.com. Heck, the Spurs had only conceded one shot in the entire half, it just so happened Christian Benteke scored with a powerful header on that one shot.

Having conceded at the death of the first-half, for not the first time on the season, Tottenham had two ways they could go. Against both Leicester – in December – and Liverpool – in January – that late goal put Tottenham behind 1-0. Fortunately, Tottenham had a one-goal lead already, so instead of going into half-time with a deficit, the Spurs were just back where they started at the level. We have no idea what happened at the break and likely Amazon will not be revealing but whatever was discussed worked well for Tottenham.

Tottenham learning from experience

In those other two matches – both losses – Tottenham conceded again before they were finally able to respond, which they never did in the 2-0 loss to Leicester City. With the importance of getting that next goal in mind, Tottenham came out strong and aggressive to start the second half.

Instead of being the victim and conceding first to start the second half, Tottenham was the aggressor and it paid off.  The Lilywhite’s aggressiveness and intent were rewarded handsomely with two fine team efforts in close succession to put Spurs firmly in command.

Mourinho Changing Too

Just as important as the response of the players from the conceding of the late goal was the response from the coach. José Mourinho s known to be a relatively conservative, defensive-minded coach. This is not to say he has not led strong attacks, just that he is known for stellar defenses.

It is clear, as Crystal Palace showed in just a short time on the ball, Tottenham is not good enough to just sit back passively on the defensive. Rather than pressing and pressuring for the last 10 minutes of the half, the team sat back a bit hoping to get something on the break.

The interesting thing about fast breaks, whether in football or basketball fastbreaks often result from turnovers. Typically turnovers are a result of good defense. In other words, it is the good defense that makes the offense. With Tottenham Hotspur, this is true as well. Spurs need to be on the front foot controlling the ball and working hard to get it back when off the ball defensively.

This is something that Mourinho recognized and talked about in his post-match press conference, noting the team “lost a bit of control” and “gave them ball” subsequently giving them a chance from “minute 35-46”. Mourinho continued that the goal was ultimately a consequence of that “loss of control”.

Hearing Mourinho noting the need to have control for the team to be successful is important and shows a maturing coach.  We all know that for this team the best defense has been a good offense, just sounds like now Mourinho knows and is acknowledging that too. This means – at least for the rest of this season – we are unlikely to see the team just park the bus and Spurs are more likely to work to fight on the front foot. This should be music to the ears of Tottenham fans everywhere, just like three wins on the trot.