By Ewah Chika.
How Tottenham Have Evolved With Mauricio Pochettino.
On Sunday, Josep Guardiola was chasing a Premier League record of seven consecutive wins (wins after appointment) after equalling Carlo Ancelotti in the win against Swansea. They Spaniard had to beat Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Sunday to maintain his 100 percent record in the league in a game even the most faithful City fan knew was going to be his defining moment in England after beating Jose Mourinho's Manchester United in Old Trafford earlier in the season.
Pochettino has taken time to implement his playing style in North London after reaching the League Cup final and finishing fifth in his debut season in White Hart Lane in the 2014/2015 season.
Tottenham unlike Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United (who all spent an excess of £85 million) did not spend enormous funds on player signings after spending less than £60 million on the likes of Victor Wayama, G. Nkoudou, Mousa Sissoko and Vincent Jansen having recouped £13 million from the sale of Chadli to West Brom.
Under Pochettino, Tottenham display the power, fitness, pace and ruthlessness required to inflict damages on their opponents. This style is not different from that of last season with the only exception being the evolution of the high-pressing to it's present devastating state. Unlike Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool) and Antonio Conte (Chelsea) who have tailored their teams in similar style, Pochettino's team are far deadlier in the final third with more precision and decisiveness which allows them to utilise their chances. While Klopp's Liverpool for example are more creative and entertaining, the Merseyside club are not as direct as Spurs coupled with their wastefulness in front of goal.
Taking a closer look at the game against Manchester City for example, Tottenham had a total sprint of 647 compared to City's 609 coupled with their 118.8km distance covered (fifth highest distance covered by a Premier League team in a game this season) with City accounting for 114.8km which clearly confirms the fitness levels of Pochettino's side making it difficult for Guardiola's side to play their slick passing game with Kun Aguero dropping deep in midfield as a result of shortage of service from the midfielders. Tottenham did not only run further than City on the day, they also created more chances even with less quality players compared to City, in total Pochettino's team had seven shots on target compared to City's six.
"There is no denying City are a brilliant football side. But we know if we could get in their faces and kept working hard we'd create chances," were the words of Dele Alli after the game against City.
This season, Tottenham are not only superior to the other teams in fitness, power and pace, they are also ranked second in shots per game this season (12.9) in addition to their six shots on target per game this season which is ranked as the third highest in the league. Pochettino places so much emphasises on his full backs, pushing high when they are in possession playing as wing backs, out numbering the opponents in midfield and in the opponents defence with one of the two defensive midfielders (Victor Wayama) sitting back to shield the two centre-backs and forming a three man defence. This system has made it difficult to penetrate Tottenham's defence, having conceded the least amount of goals this season (3). Pochettino's playing style also allows the central backs to sit back and absorb pressure with Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen's making 24 clearances in the game against City which is more than the total of the whole Man City players on Sunday.
For some seasons now, it had seemed the North London club depended on Harry Kane to win games considering the Englishman's goalscoring exploits since 2013 (excess of 60 games in all competitions). That reasoning has changed this season given Son Heung-Min's excellent form (five goals in six games in all competitions this season) having replaced the Englishman since his injury. The Englishman has also blown hot and cold for the Three Lions, having an underwhelming Euro tournament in the summer, making it clear he thrives better in Pochettino's system. Son Heung- Min on his own has seamlessly slotted in as the club's centre-forward scoring vital goals and creating assists confirming the thought of many that Pochettino's style has aided Kane.
However, Tottenham fans pray the display against Man City isn't a one off as they chase the league title after running Leicester City close before suffering a deadly draw with Chelsea in May which ended their chances of winning the trophy as Leicester City ended up as the League winners.
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