Five adjustments Tottenham must make to defeat Liverpool – opinion
There were lessons to be learned from Tottenham’s 6-3 loss to Liverpool. Let’s take a look at the five tweaks Ange Postecoglou could make to stand a better chance in the Carabao Cup.
Track runners from midfield
Liverpool’s first two goals were scored by Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister starting runs from outside the box and charging into the area. Archie Gray and Radu Dragusin had taken up defensive positions and were focusing on the cross rather than necessarily where opponents were.
Maybe Tottenham were caught by surprise by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross, but Pape Matar Sarr could have tracked Diaz’s run into the box. This is slightly less applicable for Mac Allister’s goal as it would have required Dominic Solanke to track back to the six-yard box. Nevertheless, Tottenham need to be aware of this type of movement that multiple Liverpool players utilise in their attacks.
Ange Postecoglou had seemingly prepared for this kind of eventuality by condensing the distances between their attacking, midfield and defensive lines. However, Liverpool’s positional rotation (dropping Diaz deep or moving him wide, swapping with Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Salah) caused issues. It appeared that there was confusion over who was meant to pick up whom when man-to-man marking was required.
Goalkeeper needs to be ready to be proactive
If the intention is for Tottenham’s midfielders to maintain a line outside of the penalty area, then the goalkeeper needs to be prepared to leave his line. Mac Allister’s goal was unfortunate to the extent that Forster seemed to bank on Djed Spence or Archie Gray winning the first header. By the time he realised Mac Allister was going to get to the second ball, it was too late.
If Tottenham’s defenders are losing challenges due to fatigue then Fraser Forster, Brandon Austin or new signing Antonin Kinsky, may need to prepare himself to come further than he normally would to proactively clear the ball.
Across a two-legged tie, Spurs cannot afford to open up
Tottenham’s approach at the start of their Premier League game against Liverpool was well-considered. Liverpool are a technically superior side and simply have more fit players, but the first-half defensive mistakes meant that Tottenham chose to forgo their secure approach to press higher and more aggressively.
Spurs would likely have not scored their second-half goals without this change in approach, however consequently, it gave Liverpool much more room to progress the ball and attack on the counter.
If Spurs open up when playing at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and concede multiple goals before the return trip to Anfield, the tie is effectively over. This is a game where even if Tottenham concede they must remain resilient as their squad will hopefully be in a far stronger position for the second leg of the Carabao Cup tie.
Let Radu Dragusin play to his strengths
The 6-3 loss was a team performance and the overall fatigue of Tottenham’s squad made the match Spurs’ toughest challenge of the season so far.
However, the third and fifth goals come from Radu Dragusin attempting to intercept passes that he could not reach. He puts himself in a position where he cannot win the first challenge and is then crucially out of position so Liverpool exploit the space he vacates.
Dragusin excels as a box defender and against this Liverpool side, it may be prudent to let him play to his strengths. Especially after Ryan Gravenberch commented after the game that Liverpool specifically set up to target the Tottenham defender.
Find some way to overcome the relentless fatigue
Even if Tottenham set up with a perfect tactical approach, the challenge will be maintaining the set-up for the full match. Fatigue affects the team’s mental decision-making, technical precision and physical capability in challenges. These are the kinds of errors Liverpool will exploit and that makes the fixture so difficult.
With the game possibly arriving too soon for the returns of Richarlison and Mikey Moore, they are getting no additional help with their squad depth. Tottenham will need to be shrewd with how they expend energy and find a way to put in nothing short of a perfectly efficient performance.
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