Tottenham lost their first game of the season 2-1 away at St. James’s Park. It was an uninspiring performance of Postecoglu’s men but where did it all go wrong? How good was Newcastle?
Spurs struggle to create high-quality-chances
Tottenham had 66% possession throughout the game, played 300 of their 500 total passes in Newcastle’s half and registered 20 shots. They keep the ball really well in the final third but struggle to find a way through a low block. 11 of their total shots were taken from outside of the box, often a result of not being able to find a way through and growing frustrated. All the dominance possession-wise only lead to 0.94 xG out of open play. Too little for a team with Tottenham’s ambitions. Especially because similar problems arose in their first game of the season against Leicester and also last season.
Solanke’s absence was definitely a factor as any crosses towards Kulusevski, who played as the centre forward, would like be defended by Burn and Krafth. As a result Spurs focused on tidy intricate play in between the defensive lines and in central zones.
Penetrating a low block has been a problem all throughout Postecoglu’s tenure at Tottenham, and against Newcastle it was again visibly why. The central midfielders Maddison and Sarr were tasked with staying outside of Newcastle’s block and acting as deep-lying playmakers at times. The full backs Udogie and Porro would move into the #10 zones between the defensive lines. However, Tottenham would often end up with only Kulusevski inside the block and all other players outside looking to receive the ball. Any progression is almost impossible if there’s only one passing option.
Additionally, you’d think that a player like Maddison is more comfortable receiving the ball in tight spaces than players like Porro or Udogie are who have played most of their football as a fullback.
Newcastle’s poorly structured defensive setup
Newcastle set their mid block up in a 4-5-1 with only Isak pressing at the front which caused them some problems. In situations where the Swede wasn’t pressing or positioned well, the midfield line would be dragged out to put pressure on the player in possession. Especially an industrious midfield consisting of Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton struggle at times to stay positionally disciplined.
This opened up the space between the midfield and defensive line for Tottenham’s attackers to drop off and receive the ball and initiate dangerous 4v4 situations.
In a low block, when defending the own box, Joelinton would fill in as a LWB (left wing back) to match Tottenham’s attacking setup, which was often a 2-3-5. Usually, a midfielder he struggled to cover the back post time and time again. Ultimately, that led to the equaliser where Maddison’s shot was parried by Pope towards the back post where Joelinton lost track of Johnson who had a free shot on goal.
His counterpart on the right, Livramento also struggled in that regard. The reason why Tottenham didn’t capitalise on that was because Wilson Odobert who started on the right wing rarely attacked the back post. If he did, he could have had a handful of chances.
Opportunities for Newcastle on the counter
Newcastle set their game up to counter and be very direct. The front line consisting of Gordon, Barnes and Isak offers plenty of pace and midfield, especially Longstaff and Joelinton cover a lot of ground too. They often found joy with a vertical ball out wide upon regaining possession also due to Tottenham’s struggles defending transitions. As mentioned, Spurs attack in a 2-3-5 shape and the full backs push up into the last line. When they lose the ball in build-up, there are big gaps on the wings to be exploited. The centre backs are tasked with defending the touchline and the rest defence in front of them isn’t good enough.
The fullbacks are positioned too high to defend any quick breaks, and the central midfielders like Maddison or Sarr are caught out in counter-pressing scenarios. Teams like Arsenal or Manchester City rarely abandon their 3-2 or 3-1 set up. The number of midfielders in front of the backline might change, but the three at the back is almost a constant. It allows greater ability to defend transition, especially if the ball goes wide.
Individual performances
Joelinton was named Man of the match and rightly so. He contributed in all areas of the pitch and covered lots of ground. His through ball to Murphy which set up the 2-1 winner was the cherry on top. Both centre backs (Krafth & Burn) defended their box really well and were reliable in possession, and Anthony Gordon was constantly a danger on the counter. Jacob Murphy struggled to get up to speed upon his substitution and gave the ball away a few times in dangerous areas. However, he grew into the game and got the assist for Isak’s goal.
For Tottenham, Cristian Romero was superb. He won all his tackles on the ground and most aerial duels, and was also very reliable on the ball. Brennan Johnson was very lively after being introduced at half time but often lacks a quality final ball. The midfield around James Maddison struggled to create good chances, and both Kulusevski and Son didn’t live up to their expectations.
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