No need for ‘excuses’ from Mourinho, Spurs play perfectly against Leeds

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José Mourinho’s game plan worked perfectly as Leeds United couldn’t shake off their New Year’s Day hangover while lost 3-0 to Spurs. And he didn’t even need to “park the bus.”

Many predicted before the game that Mourinho would allow Leeds to have plenty of possession before hitting them on the counter with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min. And those predictions proved correct when the Spurs reversed the threat from the Yorkshire team and hit them where it hurt. From the start, it was clear that Tottenham were trying to put Son and Steven Bergwijn between center-backs and wingers rather than opening wide as they turned the game and attacked to the beat.

Before the game, Mourinho claimed that Spurs would not give “excuses” to lose, as he described their preparation for the game as “nonsense” after his game against Fulham was postponed midweek. He said: “I don’t want to find any excuses before the game, we have to be focused and optimistic. We don’t play Fulham so our preparation was silly, but let’s be positive. We play with four defenders: in different matches we make the best decisions for different opponents. We are going to the game in a positive way and we want to win a difficult game. Leeds are difficult opponents with a style of play, they go from man to man and that creates difficulties. “

Mourinho may have been unhappy in the Premier League “unprofessional” handling the postponement, but gave her side extra time to recover from her 1-1 draw against Wolves last weekend. It will affect Tottenham later in the season as they try to put an additional game on their schedule, but it allowed Spurs to match Marcelo Bielsa’s men, who made no changes from the team that played West Brom, for energy. Saturday. And Leeds has a habit of ushering in the New Year on a vague note, with their 2017 win over Rotherham now the only time in their last eight attempts that they have won their first league game of the calendar year.

Like Sheffield United last season, it has been refreshing to see Leeds attack the division without any fear. They were relentless here again, but the good chances were few and far between. In truth, they were poor on defense and didn’t have enough big moments on the other end to justify their enthusiastic approach. It has worked for them many other times, but Glenn Hoddle was certainly over the top in the comments. The Spurs legend hailed them as “incredible” for putting six players in the box while trailing 3-0, while praising Leeds for “refusing to lie down.” They are to be congratulated for the effort they put into the game, but Spurs completely controlled the game after the first goal.

It may have happened in controversial circumstances, with a debate over whether the challenge over Bergwijn was inside the area or not, but Kane made no mistake with the penalty to give Spurs a 29-minute lead. The English international’s assist for the Spurs’ second before the break means they now have more Premier League goals this season (21) than last season. Son, who benefited from his assistance, scored his 100th goal in all competitions for Tottenham, becoming the 18th player to score that amount for Spurs, and the first not from the UK or Ireland.

Toby Alderweireld capped Mourinho’s first meeting with Leeds early in the second half when his header was mishandled by Illan Meslier, who lost it over the line. The victory means Spurs do not extend their four-game winless streak in the Premier League and instead climb to third place in the table, four points behind leader Liverpool. Mourinho has now won all five of his meetings with Bielsa, with an aggregate score in all those matches at 18-2.

The most surprising aspect of the game was that Leeds did not score in the second half, with 11 of the 15 goals Spurs have conceded this season after the break. Mourinho achieved the balance between attack and defense on Saturday after sit when taking the initiative too many times. The Spurs had 20 shots against Leeds and could have easily extended the score. With Kane e Son in this kind of form, Mourinho will rarely have to offer excuses before or after games. They now face a series of crucial encounters, with Aston Villa, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City to play in their next seven Premier League matches. Play like they did today and the Spurs could catapult themselves into the mix of titles. Play like they did against Wolves and Leicester and they may have to settle for the battle of the top four.

Joe williams



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