Five tactical observations from Tottenham win versus Fulham
By Aaron Coe
Despite losing the clean sheet late, the weekend win over Fulham was the most complete game from Tottenham since week 1. Here are five tactical observations from Spurs’ big win over the Cottagers.
The Tottenham Hotspur win over Fulham at the weekend was a big step for Spurs. Fulham may be a newly promoted club. However, the Cottagers do not play like a team that will be going down. Even after the loss, Fulham still sits 10th in the League table, despite playing a schedule that has included Liverpool, Arsenal, and Brighton, in addition to Spurs.
Although not a perfect game, with Spurs losing the clean sheet late, Tottenham displayed several positive attributes from a tactical and technical perspective, and here are five.
Observation 1: Spurs continue to improve on set pieces
Tottenham did not score on a corner kick this weekend, but they once again have the ball in the back of the net from a corner. A curler from Heung-min Son off the short corner was chaulked off due to Harry Kane being in an offside position that was adjudged to influence play. It was a goal Son could have used; regardless, it should continue to instill confidence in the team on their set plays.
The Lilywhites had ten corners against Fulham and used those ten opportunities to show off a bag full of short plays and passes to create different angles for opportunities.
Besides Son’s goal, which was called back, Richarlison should have had a goal off a corner. On that play, it was another short corner, this time on the right, and Son’s cross was perfect, but Richarlison’s header was not.
Tottenham also got several other shots near the top of the box from the corners, showing they are learning to use the opportunities given effectively.
Likewise, although they had few shooting opportunities from set-pieces, seeing Eric Dier take the kick – instead of Harry Kane -shows someone is watching in practice. Additionally, while the little movement by Tottenham’s wall did not impact the play this time, it shows that the team is not going to sit idly by and not try to influence the play.
Continued…