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Harry Kane had 9 assists after the first 9 rounds in the Premier League, 7 of which went to Son. The two worked together to destroy Southampton’s growing defense in Tottenham’s 5-2 win at St Mary’s, as well as knocking out Manchester United and Burnley.
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“The problem Harry Kane causes is that he scores all kinds of goals,” thinks Gareth McAuley, a former West Brom defender, on the hottest issue in the Premier League right now.
He continued: “He can shoot with his left foot, his right foot, he can hit his head to score, he can score from inside and outside the area. He creates a great scoring threat and this season he’s back to 10th place, where he can finish from the edge of the penalty area. How are you against that? ”.
The problem that coach Frank Lampard needs to focus on finding a solution before Tottenham’s clash at Stamford Bridge will be the problems that Kane can cause. Of his 7 goals in 9 Premier League games this season, there are 2 penalties, but the expected goal rate excluding 11m (NPxG) for 90 minutes is 0.5, the highest since the season. 2017/2018 when he scored 28 goals excluding 11 million in 37 Premier League appearances.
More worrying for Lampard is that Kane is still not the Spurs’ number one forward this season. That position belongs to Son Heung-min, who has scored 9 goals in nine Premier League appearances and has an expected goal rating (xG) of just 3.9. These two forwards have created the most terrifying, effective and efficient partnership in the Premier League. Son’s ability to penetrate the space behind the defender unleashed a creative ability that Kane has consistently insisted as one of the key parts of his skill set.
Kane had 9 assists after the first 9 rounds in the Premier League, 7 of which went to Son. The two worked together to destroy Southampton’s growing defense in Tottenham’s 5-2 win at St Mary’s, as well as knocking out Manchester United and Burnley. In the 2020/2021 season, no player in Europe’s top 5 leagues contributed more direct shoe prints to goals than Kane, an increasingly elite 10 alongside a 9 killer.
Kane’s expected assists per 90 minutes (xA90) is 0.43, double the number in any season in the last three at Tottenham. He touches the ball 10 more times and makes 6 more passes every 90 minutes on average than he did last season, and they tend to appear in deeper positions. The most surprising example was the victory over Southampton in September, when he only touched the ball in the opponent’s penalty area once while assisting in Son 4 goals.
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So if you are the central one, how will you deal with Harry Kane? McAuley, who has played Kane multiple times during his time at West Brom, admits there is no easy solution.
The former Northern Ireland player said: “Harry is a smart player. When he moves away from defense and players run past him, you can no longer follow him. That’s where your communication needs to really match up with your team’s central midfielders and engage those around you.
As a defender, you think about the threat behind it, which is the shift to the running back. He also has the vision to throw shots for people like Son when he finds spaces in the half turn when he receives the ball.
When we (West Brom) use a four-man defense, we try to block the midfield with two midfielders in front of the midfielder pair. We want to push our opponents to the wings, especially the stronger teams. Chelsea have the best defenders, but they cannot act on their own. Our focus was keeping our formation tight and tight, forcing opponents onto the wings, and betting on our strengths to tackle the crossovers.
Chelsea may have a different approach, but they can score most goals from the center of the box, so they have to be in that area.
The defensive blocking and deep midfielders will have to manage their movements, as well as the clever positioning Tottenham’s rotation makes when attacking. For me, the ability to communicate, quickly and early between players, is the best way to combat it. A distraction situation against Kane at this point can cause him to score or create a goal.
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Chelsea have recently defended quite steadily after coach Lampard switched to a 4-3-3 table with N’Golo Kante because he wanted to take advantage of his acumen, judgment and speed. to block enemy attacks. In situations where Kane falls further, he will be in the scope of the French midfielder’s action and the outcome of this clash will have a great influence on the outcome of the meeting between the two teams at Stamford Bridge.
However, the organization of Chelsea’s defense will depend on Thiago Silva, a man who has shown immense influence since arriving in August.
MuAuley commented on the Brazilian midfielder: “He read the game and chose the position very well. All your experience at the highest level drives your decisions. And it is his ability to make decisions that will play a very important role (against Kane and Tottenham). However, you will also need the players around you to play well.
Kante covers most of the area in front of the defense and covers very quickly. That will suffocate the space. Zouma also has the speed to get the ball back, but he won’t want to get back too much. You’ll want to use your speed to receive the ball, move up, and keep your defense high.
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Lampard can create a tactical surprise and reuse 3-4-2-1, the tactical scheme that coach José Mourinho overlooks as “the system they have played for two years with Antonio Conte.” But that runs the risk of undermining the confidence their players have built growing 4-3-3 in recent weeks, while Spurs, and Kane, are playing very differently as well. This 2020/2021 season.
From personal experience, McAuley doubted that a change wouldn’t work. “We (West Brom) used to try to use a three-midfield layout at White Hart Lane and he (Kane) hit a hat-trick. We changed to try to defend with 3 centrals, mainly because of his threat in front of the goal, and that day he was eliminated (he lost 0-4) ”.
How did it change strategically? I do not know. He needs a great plan from central defender in terms of positioning, stopping shots, organizing himself, communicating with the midfielders up front, especially when he (Kane) backs down. and don’t confront them directly. It will be a great challenge for concentration and communication skills and he is in extremely high shape right now.
Chelsea could count on that to neutralize the threat from Kane, and from there to Son. If they can keep the names of the two forwards off the roster, that would give them one of the most impressive defensive records of the Lampard era. If they fail, they can at least take comfort that quite a few teams have collapsed against Tottenham this season.
Translated from Liam Twomey’s article “Kante and Silva, the key for Chelsea to stop Kane in his new and deeper role” by Liam Twomey on The Athletic.
