How Tottenham defended (and attacked) from the front

One week doesn’t give us much to go on, but fans who had faith in Nuno Espírito Santo were rewarded yesterday as Tottenham began the season with a high amount of both organization and energy.

Few would have been surprised that the team came out in a 4-3-3 or that they looked to defend and counterattack against Manchester City, but the specific tactics employed were a special treat. The Spurs’ forwards stayed unusually close together and almost in line horizontally. By setting up together and just inside Man City’s half, the front line could start a systematic defense without the team absorbing too much deep pressure (at least after the first 15 minutes or so).

The midfielders stayed unusually flat – the straightest midfield line you’ve seen since your sixth-grade rec team – but what they gave up in the vertical position they gained by covering a little more width just behind the forwards. Tottenham’s top six could take away the middle simply by sticking to their formation.

The ploy forced Manchester City to the outside, which put extra pressure on the fullbacks. Japhet Tanganga proved to be more than up for the challenge. He demonstrated smart individual technique and formational positioning, and he coupled that skill with his speed and willingness to simply get physical with Jack Grealish or Raheem Sterling, an approach that seemed to wear on the City attackers as the game went on.

While the strategy had obvious defensive dividends, it provided some offensive upside, too. With the forwards nearly always together, the Spurs could launch more unified counterattacks than we’ve seen recently, running in threes and even fours rather than simply waiting for Heung-min Son or Harry Kane to look for the other one. None of the forwards looked especially comfortable holding up play, so committing to counterattacks in a steady formation spread some responsibility around.

Tottenham also played with more energy than we’ve gotten used to. Where last year’s team seemed to lethargically trot back and park the bus (while pundits discussed how deep Kane should go), this week’s squad hustled into formation, almost itching for a chance to break free with an attack.

We saw some concerns confirmed – Oliver Skipp needs to settle in and Steven Bergwijn needs to find the back of the net – but we also realized any optimism we had wasn’t unfounded. Again, one game with weeks of preparation doesn’t tell us too much about either the team or Nuno, but as the team further coheres (with or without Kane, Dusan Vlahovic, or anyone else) and Nuno matches wits with his rivals, it might just be fun to be a Tottenham fan again.