Five positives from 4-0 Tottenham Hotspur win over Leeds United
By Aaron Coe
Tottenham Positive 2: Wing-backs can make plays
A big part of the Antonio Conte approach to attacking football relies on chances being created from the wide players. Specifically, Conte expects his wing-backs to get behind the opposition’s defence and put the ball into dangerous places.
While everyone expected Sergio Reguilon and Emerson Royal to be the two players to make that happen under Conte, neither has fully kicked on in the new role. However, against Leeds, Ryan Sessegnon and Matt Doherty demonstrated what a wing-back could do in Conte’s system.
Sessegnon has been sound defensively playing in the wing-back position but has not been very aggressive going forward. That all changed on Saturday with one touch. A wonderful through ball from Harry Winks put Sessegnon behind the Peacock’s defence, and instead of thinking about anything, Sess hit a low, first-touch pass across the box past two defenders into Doherty’s path.
Doherty came running on and roofed the finish to put Spurs up early and give both players the kind of confidence they need. Doherty later assisted Dejan Kulusevski and probably should have had another assist. Both players had later opportunities to score, but some excellent goalkeeping denied Doherty, and Sessegnon could not quite reach Doherty’s cross.
Regardless, two assists and a goal from the wing-backs are the most production Spurs have seen since Conte arrived and is a good sign for the team moving forward.