Ferencvaros 1-2 Tottenham: Rapid reactions

Tottenham left Groupama Arena in Hungary with a 2-1 scoreline and their second victory in as many games of Europa League action. With that being said, here are some important things to note following the victory.

Ferencvaros 1-2 Tottenham: Rapid reactions

First off, Tottenham's second squad, starring multiple teenage up-and-comers such as Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, takes Ange Postecoglou's already aggressive style of play and ramps it up another level.

Oftentimes throughout the first half, the team would refuse to give any of Ferencvaros' defenders a bit of space, throwing more bodies into the penalty area than Tottenham's starting side did.

You would expect this to lead to more goals, and against other Premier League sides this would probably be the case, but with the team playing lower-level competition in the Europa League, they can take advantage of their youth and speed and commit more players up the pitch and in the attacking third without surrendering the goals that the tactical change would seem to indicate.

Continuing on with the performance of the second squad, Tottenham's 22-year-old midfielder, Pape Matar Sarr, seems to thrive in this squad.

The attacking pressure of the front three often draws the full attention of the opposing defense, leaving opportunities to pass the ball back out for an open long-range shot, which Sarr is readily available to take.

Not only does the pressure create these opportunities, but it also leads to moments where the ball is knocked out into the open out of desperation from the opposing defense, creating a chance for a player to run up and get a free shot on the goal, which is exactly what Sarr did in the 23rd minute of Thursday's match.

Speaking of goal scorers, Brennan Johnson's form needs to be talked about more than it already is. Johnson scored in the 86th minute of the match, after coming on as a substitute in the 65th minute of the match, which is now his 5th straight match getting on the scoresheet.

The winger has been on absolute fire ever since his rough outing against Arsenal on September 15th, a trend Tottenham supporters will hope to see continue this Sunday when Tottenham travel to face off against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Another player who showed good form during today's Europa League match was Archie Gray, who was deployed as a central defender, though he found himself rotating with Ben Davies in between the centre-back and full-back positions throughout.

Gray had multiple moments where he shined, including a moment in the 61st minute where he invited pressure from multiple defenders in his own corner of the pitch in order to make a clever pass around the both of them to get the ball moving back towards the midway line.

A lot has been made of the fact that Archie Gray has been playing out of position almost every time he's worn a Tottenham shirt, and I must admit if this is what he plays like out of position, I can't wait to see what he's like when he's playing his proper position.

Of course, even in a victory, there are some things that can be pointed to as areas needing improvement, and one of those areas for Tottenham is Timo Werner. A player has never been more in need of a goal than Werner is right now.

Against Manchester United, Werner had a one-on-one opportunity against the goalkeeper that he failed to convert after he fired it directly at Onana, United's goalkeeper. Today, Werner was given another opportunity after Mikey Moore, Spurs' young right winger, streaked upfield and delivered a brilliant pass across the top of the penalty area that left Werner one-on-one with Ferencvaros keeper Denes Disbusz.

Werner, in the same position he was in on Sunday, decided to take a touch past the keeper this time instead of shooting. Werner's touch was too heavy, however, and the ball rolled out for a goal kick. Werner is clearly struggling to find the back of the net at this time, and one can only wonder which will come first, a goal or his removal from the squad.

The other noticeable area for improvement for Tottenham is one that has been on display since Guglielmo Vicario took over for Hugo Lloris at the start of Tottenham's 2023-24 campaign, he must learn to be more confident when opposing crosses come into the penalty area.

While the team as a whole has shown some improvement against set pieces, specifically corners, this season, Vicario still seems hesitant to use his size to go out and get crosses during free play or set pieces. Outside of long, high crosses that give Vicario ample time to get under them, the keeper still seems hesitant to ever leave his line to punch or catch any sort of cross that comes across the face of the goal.

Overall, Tottenham had a successful outing on Thursday in Hungary, and one can only hope they'll continue their run of form this Sunday when they take on Brighton & Hove Albion on their home pitch at Falmer Stadium.