It couldn’t be much better for Tottenham Hotspur fans on Sunday, December 6, 2020.
A 2-0 win over Arsenal, with Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane scoring and assisting, kept them at the top of the Premier League table.
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Kane and Son were magic against Arsenal, but Tottenham have since faded
The victory also meant something special, the Spurs had overcome the obstacle of a daunting list of matches, beating Manchester City and drawing with a fit Chelsea before the clash with their rivals.
Many thought that José Mourinho’s men would stumble at this juncture and show their true selves, but they navigated the games without conceding a single goal.
The talk about the title continued, of course, even after just 11 games, less than a third of the season.
One man didn’t believe it, of course, and what he said after the North London derby has become hauntingly true as his side slides down the table and faces a dogfight for the top four.
“We can lose everywhere in the Premier League, we can go to any team and lose, any team can come here and beat us,” Mourinho said before reveling in his recent streak.
What the Premier League table looked like after Tottenham beat Arsenal
One of the wisest men in soccer never said a truer word, but two months after those glorious first days of December, the Portuguese is under pressure and the fans are unhappy.
Many would rightly say that no fan at Tottenham Hotspur has saved him from greater scrutiny. The performances are bland and the stats are staggering.
A 1-0 loss to Brighton was the worst showing since the opening day loss to Everton, creating chances was near impossible until they had five attackers in the kill, while defensively, even with a back-five, the Spurs were all at sea. .
And since that match Arsenal are 14th in the form table, only 11 goals scored and 12 conceded, with four league losses and just two wins, against Leeds and Sheffield United.
The Premier League’s form since the victory against Arsenal Jim White reveals that Spurs president Daniel Levy blocked Dele Alli’s transfer to PSG in January despite the fact that José Mourinho was happy that the Englishman left. joined Mauricio Pochettino in France.
Even the basic stats are concerning, only relegation fighters and Southampton are below them.
However, other figures of the season exposed Mourinho’s defensive attitude and how it was only a matter of time before things got like this.
They rank 10th in the Premier League table in terms of shots on goal per game (4.5), even rivals Arsenal, who have struggled in front of goal, have scored 5.7, while Aston Villa is managing six. .
Mourinho will argue that it comes down to how clear those chances are, no doubt, but in terms of UnderStat’s expected goals (xG) model, Tottenham have taken shots worth 29.1 xG.
They are topping that with 34 goals, but 29.1 xG also see them 10th overall in the Premier League.
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Mourinho’s men are sixth and six points from the Champions League places
Okay, in a chaotic season, combined with an irregular shape, it can be saved, right? Well, keep your horses on that one.
They go into attack areas and do damage, yes. But Tottenham just doesn’t spend a lot of time in the last third of the field.
In fact, they make just 88.5 accurate passes in the opponent’s third per league game, the fifth WORST in the division, even the last Sheffield United club makes the most passes there (113.4).
Meanwhile, they have only made 133 passes to the penalty area, also the fifth worst in the Premier League.
So does that mean the ball is on the other end? You bet your bottom dollar that it does.
Mourinho’s team concedes 147.7 precise passes in their third defense per league game, the second WORST in the division, only West Brom concedes more.
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Liverpool always looked dangerous against Tottenham’s back-five in their recent encounter
Frankly, it shows how impressive Mourinho’s men’s early-season defense was all season long as they have only conceded 21 goals and only allowed shots with a combined value of 25.72 xG.
But, nothing lasts forever and against Liverpool and Brighton things came home to rest, creating 0.47 xG and conceding 4.36 xG.
Certainly, part of the rearguard action they deployed is summarized in the fact that they have also made more spaces (546) than any other club.
Tottenham’s last seven games, according to xG
Actual score in parentheses
Tottenham 0,95-1,75 Leicester (0-2)
Lobos 0,74-0,41 Tottenham (1-1)
Tottenham 2.53-1.16 Leeds (3-0)
Tottenham 3.14-1.05 Fulham (1-1)
Sheffield United 0.98-1.28 Tottenham (1-3)
Tottenham 0.1-2.59 Liverpool (1-3)
Brighton 1,77-0,37 Tottenham (1-0)
Let’s not forget individual form on the matter, Son has only one league goal in his last seven, though he did have a disallowed goal against Liverpool, and hit the post in a heads-up against Fulham – fine margins.
Moussa Sissoko’s disappearance from the league is also an enigma.
The Frenchman is not Tottenham’s best player technically, but in his career against Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal, he was in tremendous shape and arguably the best player in all three games thanks to his reading of off-the-ball runs into the space between. right. -back and central.
Since the clash against Arsenal, he has only started five games, while three of them were in odd positions, as he played on the right back against Fulham, on the right back against Brighton and, in the first game with Liverpool, was opened by the right of a four-man midfield before being switched centers, dramatically improving Spurs’ performance.
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Sissoko is a popular player at Spurs, but has been strangely sidelined after a long streak in league form.
Tactics are also a major concern right now, 4-2-3-1, with Tanguy Ndombele as the No. 10 who seemed to be doing the trick in his career early in the season.
But, since his first loss to Liverpool, Mourinho has swapped both formations and player roles at an alarming rate.
The last eight games have seen four different systems played, while against Brighton, a midfield two from Ndombele and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg were in a war of attrition against a Seagulls midfield three, Yves Bissouma, Alexis Mac Allister and Pascal Gross surpassed them. in number. and exceeded.
There was no way to move the ball through midfield and, as a result, the loss was not a surprise.
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Mourinho needs to stop the slide quickly and attack can be the best form of defense
A change is necessary after weeks of decline.
The absences of GIovani Lo Celso, Sergio Reguilon and Harry Kane will not help, while the strange decision to replace Serge Aurier against Liverpool now appears to have had wider ramifications leaving them stripped of one of their best stars earlier in the campaign.
But against Brighton it couldn’t help but feel that the stage was set for Dele Alli’s return as a creative force behind a striker.
Mourinho needs to pull a rabbit out of his hat in North London very soon, or even European football will be a distant dream.
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