Tactical Analysis: Sporting Liz

John Nash: I don’t believe in luck, but I do believe in assigning value to things.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Spurs lined up with what was certainly Antonio Conte’s strongest available starting XI and if we look at how that team was set up, they were in an extremely high line compared to recent games. This backs up what unfolded; given the lack of creativity in his midfield, clearly, the plan was to use the backline to support our forward ambitions.

One observation I’d make is that with the personnel available, this had mixed results. Eric Dier was able to get involved offensively, but he’s actually less useful attacking than he is defending. A superior player, we will call that player a specialist, as opposed to someone seeking to trade on being versatile, would arguably have made better decisions or even been able to put the ball into the bloody net.

That said, Conte hasn’t the luxury of enough players that are fit for his purposes. Perišić was more useful offensively, providing the cross for Bentancur’s finely taken goal, plus a further 3 shot assists, but he was far too sloppy with the ball.

For context, Ivan received the ball on a record number of 40 occasions, only equaled by his performance against Everton at home, on 15.10.2022. His passing accuracy to the final third against the Toffees was an outstanding 78%. Last night the veteran only hit 42%.