Journalist admits ‘everyone was surprised’ by Postecoglou’s tactical change
Football.London’s Rob Guest has admitted that he and his colleague Alasdair Gold were both quite bemused when they saw Tottenham’s starting eleven against Manchester City on Tuesday.
The majority of Tottenham fans wanted to see their side get beat on Tuesday in order to ensure Manchester City remained in the driver’s seat as far as the title race was concerned.
However, Ange Postecoglou and the Tottenham players were always going to try to get a result against Pep Guardiola’s men and they certainly made the reigning Premier League champions sweat.
The Spurs boss, who has been adamantly wedded to the same system for the entirety of the season, making it clear that he was not going to change his beliefs, suddenly decided to throw a curve ball by naming all of Rodrigo Bentancur, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Pape Matar Sarr and James Maddison in the starting eleven.
Many did not know what to make of the team but when the game began, it was clear that the home side shaped up with Son Heung-min and Brennan Johnson playing up front in wider roles, while Sarr and Maddison almost played as a pair of shadow strikers.
Postecoglou’s false nine plan was surprising
Guest admitted that everyone in the press box and the people internally at the club were also quite bemused by the starting eleven.
The journalist said on the Gold and Guest Talk Tottenham Podcast: “I messaged Ali when the team news came out and we thought it was Maddison on the left, but when we watched it and within two minutes my son was saying is Pape Sarr playing up front?
“People within Spurs thought it was Maddison on the left as well, so everyone was surprised by it, it was a great move.”
Spurs Web Opinion
The fact that Postecoglou showed a willingness to tweak the system to stifle the opposition was a positive sign and perhaps an indication that he is evolving, now that he is managing against the best managers in world football.
The formation certainly worked as City struggled to get a foothold in the game during the first half, with the home side having complete control.
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