Supertrion in Tottenham punished Leeds

Published: January 2, 2021 at 3:48 p.m.
Updated: January 02, 2021 at 04:02 PM

LONDON. Weird stage changes can be seen constantly at the top of the Premier League this season.

One thing that is clear is that Tottenham set foot in the top layer with the help of the supertrion up front. Even though the wind increases and decreases from time to time.

2020 may have made room for a new year, but an hour before kickoff at Tottenham Stadium, the Premier League was arguably in its most precarious position yet during the pandemic era.

Burnley’s upcoming meeting with vulnerable Fulham was completely blown away, the fourth game in total due to the virus. At the same time, in another part of London, Tottenham was forced to put out a completely different fire.

An image had begun to circulate showing a large group of happy Christmas celebrators that included the Spurs trio Sergio Reguilon, Giovani Lo Celso and Erik Lamela (West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini also featured). The “little” problem was, of course, that London was on Level 4, the rules of which clearly state that different households cannot be mixed. It is difficult to find less realistic behavior these days, especially considering that it is very important that soccer remains as virus-free as possible for the leagues to be completed.

It looked as expected initially

Neither Lamela nor Lo Celso were on the squad chosen by José Mourinho for the match with Leeds (Reguilón was given a bench). Harry Winks, on the other hand, pushed himself into central midfield and, at the same time as referee Coote shoved his pipe into his mouth, the sun hopefully pierced through the thin layer of cloud over the sand.

Initially, the image of the match looked as expected. This would be, according to many, anti-football against the bubbly variant, Mourinho against Marcelo Bielsa. Given that Sam Allardyce set the standard for the strong epithet during the first half against Liverpool with his 6-4-0 formation, I think it’s a bit difficult to label the Portuguese a soccer killer. That said, it was the visiting team that led while the Spurs waited.

Leeds mainly overloaded the left wing with Jack Harrison and Ezgjan Alioski, who both flew forward and caused concern in Matt Doherty. The Spurs avoided taking a step forward when opponents ran the ball out of the penalty area and probably felt they had the advantage inside the penalty area despite Patrick Bamford staying ahead (Raphina was an exclamation point too).

Kane / Son with extraordinary results

Once a break was declared, the number of scoring opportunities was equal to ten, but the score was still 2-0 in Tottenham’s favor. How had it happened? For the most part, it was Leeds who on their own missed the chance for a good result at halftime. Shot by Harry Kane close to the crossbar, shot a bit too tame by Steven Bergwijn a bit from the outside, both run by mistake from Leeds. Luke Ayling, still a substitute midfielder, became the author of some of the fouls, but goalkeeper Ilian Meslier took the lead. Harry Winks received a direct ball at his feet that was played in Bergwijn whereupon Alioski tried to end the situation. Harry Kane easily scored his 10th goal from the penalty spot.

It’s vital for an opposing team to take advantage of the usual passivity of the Spurs after a 1-0 goal, but instead of a draw, Heung-Min Son countered the extension (and his 100th goal at Tottenham!). Again played by his favorite teammate Kane, who thus maintains eleven assists in addition to his ten goals. This means that the captain has a better result than anyone else in the five best leagues in Europe and together the duo have scored 13 goals.

Photo: Clive Rose / Getty Images Europe

Supertrion: Son, Bergwijn and Kane.

Something you have to live with

Clumsiness, carelessness or exhaustion, the name is optional, but he kept eluding Leeds during the second half. Meslier, who is seen mixing and hitting, fell into his own goal with Toby Alderweireld’s wink in his arms already after five minutes of play. The frenzy and fast pace that has become synonymous with Leeds also slowed dramatically. It became too difficult trying to take a 0-3 deficit with the Spurs’ adjusting game hanging over one as a constant threat. These ups and downs for the Yorkshire gang, 5-0 wins and 0-3 losses respectively, are certainly something you have to live with.

If Marcelo Bielsa sat on his stool and shook his head in discontent, Mourinho would occasionally fly out of his leather seat and happily pat his players. Winks and Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg deserve a mention for the way they controlled midfield, as well as Bergwijn, who sometimes ends up in the shadows but is an important character in Mourinho’s cynical and effective drama. He was expected to take on the role that injured Gareth Bale. The only one who actually walked off the field with a slight question mark was Doherty, who is still unconvincing and also completed a suspension in overtime. And Dele Alli who got hot and hot but was completely off stage.

A few months ago, Tottenham topped the table while Manchester United failed to win at home at Old Trafford. Since then, Mourinho has wandered the storm, which has grown and slowed from time to time, while Solskjaer’s men have slipped almost silently behind Liverpool. There are strange changes of scenery that we get to see this pandemic season, but it’s clear in any case that the Spurs retain their promising second-act spot. As long as the players can stay in the skin long enough that the season can end playing.

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Of: Frida fagerlund

Published: January 2, 2021 at 3:48 p.m.

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