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The celebratory scenes that welcomed the final whistle at Turf Moor on Monday night clearly captured the moment Tottenham Hotspur meets José Mourinho. On the one hand, it was simply a relief after securing their first clean sheet of a campaign in which they have already lost two points with last-gasp draws. But, on the other, it showed a united team willing to play a ruthless, brave and compact Mourinho football.
It’s a departure from the days of Mauricio Pochettino, whose energetic and expansive style, all pressure and verticality, has been emphatically swept away during the first six performances of the 2020/21 Premier League season.
And in this remarkable season, what was recently deemed obsolete may just be the tactical philosophy necessary to win the title. The Spurs are very much in the race right now.
HOW MOURINHO BECAME IRRELEVANT
For the last five years, the dominant tactical approach has been the German model of constant pressure and fast vertical attack lines when recovering the ball; Jurgen Klopp’s gegenpressing has made high lines the norm and turnovers in the most dangerous moments of a match.
This is in part because Klopp’s system became the most effective way to advance possession of the tiki-taka and usurp it, the furious press disrupting the rhythm of low tempo passes and sudden breaks that cut through forms. expansive views of Guardiola’s old approach.
But the main reason for their dominance among Europe’s super clubs is that financial disparity within the modern game has made territorial dominance a necessity rather than a choice. Elite clubs are forced to hog the ball as smaller opponents retreat, meaning structured possession is required, with predetermined attacking moves trained in training, to break through the defensive shell.
Pep Guardiola and Klopp have dominated the Premier League recently playing combined versions of each other’s systems, predominantly focusing on tactical variety within a framework of total possession dominance.
For this reason, Mourinho’s approach is generally considered irrelevant. Your desire to sit on a half-compressed block, with minimal pressure and counterattack from behind while the opponent is drawn forward, doesn’t work if you’re running one of the elite clubs. Being forced to hold the ball limits your chances to counter, so Mourinho’s lack of interest in training specific moves (rather than waiting for his forwards to improvise) left Manchester United and later Spurs looking flat.
Kane responds to Mourinho’s tactic
HOW EMPTY STADIA CHANGED THE TACTICS OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE
Suddenly, that narrative has changed. Spurs are just two points off the top of the table, have scored more goals than any other team and were unlucky enough to drop points against Newcastle United and West Ham.
Mourinho could be looming again as Covid-19 alters the landscape of Premier League tactics.
The games have been too wild this season, with 5-3 and 6-2 suddenly common as clubs adjust to a truncated preseason, empty stadiums and the psychological uneasiness of playing in a pandemic.
Physical condition is the most obvious factor, and one that won’t change given how tight the schedule is between now and May, while empty stadiums seem to favor a cool-headed shot and lead to a relaxed defense.
After a low-scoring week six, many experts predict a return to normal, but with the match roster going up and not down, we’re more likely currently within a little cautionary footnote, and such absurd score lines will be back soon.
WHY THE MOURINHO SYSTEM BACK TO FASHION
That puts Mourinho’s tactics front and center. The era of ultra-high lines and ultra-fast pressure may have reached its first major lockdown, and the division is ready to rally towards the more confident and pragmatic approach of the Tottenham manager.
If the new normal makes games wild and uncontrollable, then all of a sudden, the man seeking control through anti-possession, through a solid defensive setup and penetrating counters aimed at catching a high defensive line, He is the king.
Furthermore, the erratic nature of the 2020/21 season means that winning the title could require only around 86 points, the Premier League average before 2017, from which point each champion has accumulated more than 90.
Mourinho’s football is very effective in reaching the mid-80s, earning 81 points with Man Utd in 2017/18 despite never chasing the crown and thus without genuine motivation to improve results.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF SPURS
His Spurs team is notably better than United’s. Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min have formed an unprecedented strike partnership for which Mourinho deserves credit, having instructed the Tottenham captain to play deeper and look for runners behind.
On the other hand, Tanguy Ndombele has finally stepped up and really looks in central midfield, topping the Premier League charts in second assists with three so far, and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has instantly become the similar figure. to Matic that Mourinho needs at the base of his midfield.
Of course, there are still some troubling flaws, especially in his propensity to concede late goals thanks to momentary lapses in central defense. Eric Dier alongside Toby Alderweireld is technically his best match, but he lacks athleticism, and it shows.
But with Gareth Bale yet to be integrated, Mourinho appears to have significant depth in the squad and possibly fewer weak points in his system than Liverpool or Manchester City. Klopp’s side must navigate an entire campaign without Virgil van Dijk, which could seriously undermine his title defense, while Man City simply cannot make things work under Guardiola as before.
The planets are lining up, then, for Tottenham to make a serious challenge for the Premier League crown. It would be quite a turnaround if Mourinho, seen as tactically irrelevant, returned dramatically because a pandemic has recalibrated English football. But it really could happen.
