A poor pass and a bad clearance which turned into two Chelsea goals were the obvious mistakes for Tottenham, however, Spurs’ defensive issues go beyond a couple of mistakes.
Tottenham Hotspur was dominated from start to finish by Chelsea in the first-leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final. A defence that had only conceded in five of Antonio Conte’s first 10 matches in charge looked a suspect as when he arrived and committed the kind of errors you do not expect to see from the Italian’s teams. Here are some reasons Spurs’ defence struggled against Chelsea.
Tottenham gave the ball away too much
Spurs were under pressure from the moment they booted the ball up and lost it at kickoff, with Romelu Lukaku putting in a decent little cross less than 20 seconds into the match. Had Kai Havertz held his run instead of attacking the near post, Chelsea would have really scored early.
This pressure-mounted because Tottenham often just cleared the ball to no one or hit aimless long-balls which gifted possession to Chelsea again and again.
As Harry Kane or Heung-min Son scrambled to apply pressure on a ball they would never win, one or two easy passes typically relieved the pressure as the front three never pressed with any concert.
The lack of connection defensively between Son, Kane, and Lucas Moura is particularly surprising given how long they have played together but much of it was the result of a lot of wasted possession and passes that were more hopeful than anything.
As the front three chased the ball, so too did the midfield four behind them.
Spurs were reactive, not anticipatory, and were a step slow as a result
Conte’s defensive scheme is built on positional stability. However, each time one player is pulled out of position or is late in their duties, it amplifies the pressure for others. This was the case against the Blues.
Chelsea often quickly recovered the ball and then would quickly switch possession in the attack, forcing the wing-backs to push up. As soon as either Matt Doherty or Emerson Royal would take a couple of steps toward the ball it would go whipping past them near the areas they had vacated.
This chasing the ball, as each player worked to recover for themselves and each other was the story of the game. Every time the player closest to the ball finally reacted, the ball was gone again. Spurs were chasing ghosts all night and that is never a good thing.
Tottenham lacks the depth to compete at the top level
The harsh reality is that if Tottenham were going to beat the Blues at Stamford Bridge, Spurs just blew a big chance. If there was a time to take it to Chelsea, when the Blues are missing Ben Chilwell, N’Golo Kante, Thiago Silva, and Eduardo Mendy is the time to do so.
Unfortunately, as Chelsea was able to find players to step up in those absences, Tottenham was not able to do likewise.
With Eric Dier out, the defence was rudderless. Hugo Lloris played solid enough and had some big moments. However, absent one well-remembered historic outburst at Son, Lloris is not a vocal leader. Without Dier, the organization and stability were simply not the same.
The fact Joe Rodon did not see a minute, despite being Dier’s back-up, speaks volumes. As does the inability to have any real, recognized cover for the left side of the pitch. Ben Davies is the only player on the left that is consistently available, as both Ryan Sessegnon and Sergio Reguilón miss time frequently. Matt Doherty at left wing-back simply is not going to cut it.
While the team has done well for a while without Cristian Romero, when facing better teams, it is clear even one more injury or hardship is one too many for a team that just does not have enough top defenders to compete with the top three now.