Observations from Tottenham First-leg Win Over Dinamo Zagreb

Tottenham Hotspur did almost everything we would have wanted them to do in the first of a home-and-home contest against GNK Dinamo Zagreb. In securing a 2-0 win in the first match, the Lilywhites will leave London in a strong position to advance to the quarterfinals. In a very business-like, professional victory led by two goals from Harry Kane, here are a few things that stood out to us at HotspurHQ.

Harry Kane Does it All Again for Tottenham

As noted in our player ratings, Harry Kane did a bit of everything again for Tottenham and earned another man-of-the-match perfect 10 ratings. Kane got the brace with a couple of real poacher’s efforts and even cleared a header from in front of Hugo Lloris. Beyond the goals and goal-line clearances, what makes Kane special are the little things in-between in all.

Kane finishes what he starts

On Tottenham’s first goal, it was fitting that Kane was the player that came in and cleaned up the ricochet off the post as he was the player who got things started to begin win. As an example of just how quickly Spurs can counter, Dele had the ball just outside the penalty box and played forward to Kane who was not even to the semi-circle of the Tottenham side when he sent the longball to Heung-Min Son.

Sonny was a willing runner for Tottenham all night but on this occasion, the ball never quite got there and was headed away by the Dinamo defense. It was at this moment that the desire and effort of Dele, Erik Lamela, and Harry Kane came into focus. Dele Alli raced up the field behind the long ball and managed to be the first player to get to the loose ball following the defensive header.

Having controlled the ball just enough, Dele was able to pass the ball to Ben Davies and push the Tottenham possession. Davies took one touch, looked up, and then zipped a pass into Erik Lamela who turned so quickly inwards the defender tumbled over. As Lamela drove Davies sprinted toward the near post and Harry Kane – who was running up behind the play like Lamela and Dele – flashed IN FRONT of Lamela.

Erik is an intelligent footballer and took the space Kane had created and drove toward the goal. Unfortunately for the Argentine, his shot deflected back into play off the post. This is where Kane was first to react having squared himself after making his run and he easily finished for the 1-0 Spurs lead. Kane started the play, followed the play, and then finished. Not much more a player can do to help his team, just outstanding!

Substitutes almost provide instant impact

When José Mourinho finally brought on three substitutes just past the hour mark, they almost immediately all combined for a goal. Lucas Moura practically walked onto the field and into a tackle, recovering the ball for Tottenham. From there Moura quickly moved forward and got the ball to who else, Harry Kane. Kane turned the ball up the field and pushed it to Gareth Bale.

Bale of course took a couple of touches then smoked a sweet cross with the outside of his left boot over to Steven Bergwijn.  The young Dutchman did everything basically right. Bergwijn had done a nice job framing the back post and made good contact keeping his volley low. Unfortunately, his shot was saved and the moment was lost. Had they actually scored José Mourinho really would have looked a genius, instead, well it was close.

Bale and Bergwijn almost connected against at the death. This time Stevie had sent the cross into Bale at the back post, but the Welshman’s effort could not find the target and the moment was lost. While Bale and Bergwijn did not produce on the night, it definitely has the potential to be a major connection for the team.

Pierre-Emile Højbjerg’s Yellow Savvy or Stupid?

It was almost an afterthought at first, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg was named to the bench. This was supposed to be Pierre’s day off, but that was okay. But as is typically the case if his name is on the sheet, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg played. While Tanguy Ndomble needed to be substituted to be protected, whether or not it needed to be Højbjerg is a different question.

Literally from the moment, the defensive midfielder came on it looked like Højbjerg has an ulterior motive. Højbjerg gave a bit of the elbow as he went up for a header immediately upon entering the fray. A few moments later he was going into the tackle aggressively and then had a few smiling words for the referee.

Then with just five minutes to play there is Højbjerg falling behind in the midfield and scrambling to make a tackle like a safety saving a touchdown. Given the referee was handing out cards like Halloween candy – four in the last 30 minutes alone – there was only ever going to be one result for Højbjerg, a yellow card.

The yellow card for Højbjerg is significant as it is his third thus far in the Europa League this season meaning Pierre is suspended for the match in Croatia. If Tottenham ends up losing that match and falling out of the tournament, this card could be VERY significant. However, if Tottenham advance as they should, this means Højbjerg can play freely in that first quarterfinal match, knowing a fourth card would not lead to a suspension.

Further, even if Højbjerg got the fifth card in that second quarterfinal match all cards are wiped out after the quarterfinals. In other words, only receiving a red-card in the quarterfinals would get a player suspended for the semi-finals. Whether it was intentional or not, what Højbjerg and Mourinho achieved was guaranteeing Pierre would NOT be suspended for cards for the first leg of the quarter-finals. While Spurs still have to advance that far – now without the Dane – it ultimately should be smart thinking in the end.