Heung-min Son and Kane Combi under concentration control
Completely neutralize the powerful attack line
Once fell from 1st to 5th in the league
Tottenham are conceding with an own goal from defender Toby Alderweireld (right) in the EPL match against Leicester City in London on the 21st. London = AP Yonhap News
In professional sports, it is virtually impossible for a team to cruise throughout the season. This is because the opponents in each game thoroughly analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the team and immediately apply them to challenge. Only by overcoming these constant storms can you finally rise to the top.
Tottenham, who was cruising after the opening of the English Premier League (EPL) in the 2020-2021 season, finally faced a storm. Tottenham lost 0-2 in their home game in the 14th round of the league against Leicester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on the 21st. Leicester City’s extra time for the first half Tottenham flank defender Serzu Orier (28) took a penalty kick, and Jamie Boddie (33) succeeded, leading the Tottenham attack line, which was unable to utilize the best weapon counterattack, and became more helpless in the second half. Toby Alderweireld (31) reached his own goal, and the victory was completely inclined.
On the 17th, Tottenham lost to Liverpool and took the lead in the league, but failed to stop the opponent’s various attacks and lost 1-2. This is the first consecutive loss of the season. With 7 wins, 4 draws, 3 losses, and 25 points, the ranking, which was once 1st, has also fallen to 5th. The difference between lead Liverpool (9 wins, 4 draws, 1 loss, 31 points) widened to 6.
After losing to Everton in September, Tottenham led the league by cruising undefeated in 11 games with the power of a powerful attacking duo named Son Heung-min (28, 11 goals and 4 assists) and Harry Kane (27, 9 goals and 10 assists). have. Afterwards, all teams against Tottenham focused their performance on controlling the two players, and Leicester City finally succeeded on that day. Coach Brandon Rogers intensively checked the two players from the beginning of the game, naturally eliminating space for the two to play. Even in the counterattack situation, the path between Son Heung-min and Kane was blocked first, so the combination play between the two could not show its strength.
The problem is that the third offensive weapon, which will break through the checks concentrated on the two, did not show any power. This season, Tottenham used Gareth Bale (31), Lucas Mora (28), Stephen Berchbain (23) and Giovanni Rosselso (24) as their third striker, but none of them scored more than two league goals. I couldn’t upload it. On this day, Rosselso was the starter, and Bale and Mora were used as the Jokers in the second half, but the three players combined to shoot only one shot.
Most painfully, the strength that led the cruise early in the season was completely neutralized in this match. In the future, Tottenham’s opponents are likely to actively refer to the strategy brought by Leicester City on this day. So, the performance of the third striker to support Son Heung-min and Kane became more desperate.
Reporter Pilwoong Seo [email protected]
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