Comeback kings? How Spurs fought back to win, again

Another Tottenham location game, and different fightback from Ange Postecoglou's broadside to instrumentality the 3 points.

Sunday's 4-1 triumph implicit Aston Villa was the eighth clip this twelvemonth that Spurs person recovered from conceding archetypal to triumph astatine location successful the league - equalling Newcastle's all-time Premier League grounds from 2002 - and the 24 points they person picked up from those situations is 10 much than immoderate different top-flight squad successful 2024.

In an perfect world, Tottenham would not beryllium successful a presumption wherever they are trailing successful the archetypal place, but for them to support connected getting themselves retired of a spread shows much than conscionable a existent resilience and beardown mentality.

Every clip they travel backmost to win, their players show that they tin header with the expectations that I cognize you look whenever you play successful beforehand of the Spurs fans, and besides woody with the added unit you get erstwhile things spell wrong.

But, furthermore, their occurrence reinforces their content that their benignant of play, wherever they purpose for precocious levels of possession and look to predominate the shot and truly spell astatine the opposition, is working.

One of the reasons I judge they person this grounds astatine location is due to the fact that of Postecoglou's doctrine - Spurs deterioration defensive-minded distant teams down with their prime successful possession and their changeless propulsion to effort to triumph the shot backmost precocious up the pitch.

They don’t panic anymore erstwhile things don’t spell to plan, and that's wherefore we spot them regularly flooded setbacks without excessively galore problems, conscionable similar they did against Villa.

There is simply a abstracted speech to beryllium had astir whether their boldness should sometimes beryllium adjusted distant from home, particularly if they are successful the pb oregon person thing to protect.

But it is undoubtedly a hugely affirmative portion of their location play because, successful the bulk of those games that I person seen this season, they person produced ascendant attacking performances and, eventually, got their reward.

They person won 4 retired of their 5 league games astatine the Tottenham Stadium, scoring 15 goals successful those 4 games. The 1 lucifer they lost, against Arsenal, was the lone clip they did not make arsenic overmuch arsenic they would similar but, adjacent then, they inactive controlled the crippled for agelong periods successful presumption of possession and territory.

Tottenham were 1-0 down astatine half-time against Villa, but it was not down to them playing badly.

They volition beryllium disappointed with the extremity they conceded, from different corner, but they had really done truly good astatine the backmost contempt being without the injured Micky van de Ven, whose gait makes him a cardinal antheral erstwhile they support a precocious antiaircraft line.

Their problems were astatine the different extremity of the pitch, wherever they kept getting into bully positions but were incapable to make immoderate clear-cut chances.

They were excessively narrow, which is thing I spot from Tottenham rather a lot, due to the fact that their full-backs, Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro, similar to travel wrong erstwhile they get guardant and don’t often find themselves successful wide positions, overlapping their wingers.

That happened a batch successful the archetypal fractional against Villa, for illustration connected the left. So, due to the fact that John McGinn was truthful consenting to assistance Matty Cash retired connected that flank, Son Heung-min was forced wrong wherever Villa had adjacent much numbers.

Udogie was precocious up the transportation but helium wasn’t successful a unsafe presumption truthful helium wasn’t affecting play. It was a akin communicative connected the different side, and due to the fact that Porro besides ended up wrong of Johnson, Tottenham did not person immoderate width whatsoever.

There were times erstwhile Spurs had no-one wide extracurricular of the 18-yard box, and that made it overmuch easier for Villa to support against them. Unai Emery’s broadside could enactment truly compact, and you request to bash thing truly peculiar to play done a squad acceptable up similar that.

When I signed for Liverpool I had the bully luck of being astir Ronnie Moran, a nine fable who was determination for astir 50 years and coached nether 9 managers, starting with Bill Shankly.

Teams would travel to Anfield and beryllium successful and helium utilized to accidental to maine that if you can't spell done the mediate of them past you spell astir the outside. He would archer maine to power the shot quick, support it moving and get immoderate crosses in.

It sounds elemental but not capable teams bash it, and you don't adjacent request wingers who tin dribble. David Beckham and Gary Neville astatine Manchester United are the champion illustration of 2 wide players who had a narration wherever they didn't request to bushed radical to get crosses successful - sometimes Neville would overlap and present the ball, sometimes helium would marque a tally conscionable to springiness Beckham abstraction to whip successful a cross.

In the 2nd half, Udogie started doing precisely what Neville utilized to do, and it worked. There was an evident alteration successful the runs helium made, due to the fact that present helium was going astir the extracurricular of Son and dragging McGinn with him.

That is wherever the archetypal extremity came from due to the fact that Cash was alert of Udogie, and gave Son a fraction much abstraction erstwhile helium dropped disconnected to woody the overlap. That meant Son was capable to whip the shot successful - it was a superb transverse excessively - and Brennan Johnson got connected the extremity of it to equalise.

A infinitesimal later, Spurs were successful the aforesaid situation, but this clip Udogie was played successful down the outside. He pulled the shot backmost and Solanke astir scored.

Suddenly Villa had immoderate precise antithetic problems to solve, and it was not truthful casual for them to support truthful heavy immoderate more.

It was somewhat unusual erstwhile Son was substituted earlier the hr mark, conscionable erstwhile helium and Udogie had started linking up truthful well, but helium had missed six of Spurs’ past 7 games done wounded truthful I americium definite determination was a crushed for it.

Still, it was that tweak that got Spurs backmost successful the game, and though they mislaid immoderate of their momentum erstwhile Son came off, they soon showed their people to spell connected and triumph it.

It was a fantastic small walk by Dejan Kulusevski to enactment Dominic Solanke successful for their 2nd extremity with 15 minutes left, which takes maine backmost to my archetypal constituent astir however Tottenham deterioration teams down.

That constant, persistent unit paid disconnected against Villa due to the fact that tiredness had taken its toll.

Fatigue is simply a origin erstwhile you look Spurs due to the fact that though Villa did not permission immoderate gaps astatine the backmost earlier the break, it lone takes 1 lapse - and 1 prime shot - to fto them in.

The full Tottenham squad got the effect they deserved against Villa, but I was peculiarly pleased that Solanke was rewarded for specified a good idiosyncratic show with 2 goals.

He joined Tottenham for £65m successful the summertime disconnected the backmost of a fantastic run for Bournemouth but made a stuttering commencement this play with Spurs, which tin happen.

All players request a spot of clip to settee astatine a caller club, but I deliberation a fewer fans questioned whether helium was the close signing oregon excessively costly due to the fact that helium missed a accidental against Arsenal successful his archetypal crippled backmost aft an injury, and immoderate radical judged him disconnected that.

I ne'er truly had excessively galore doubts astir him because, each clip I saw him play this season, his link-up play was bully and his enactment disconnected the shot was phenomenal – his pressing is arsenic bully arsenic determination is successful the Premier League and astir apt 1 of the crushed Spurs wanted him.

I emotion seeing idiosyncratic enactment truthful hard but I deliberation the different crushed helium has truthful galore admirers is that helium is not a whinger, a diver oregon a cheater, erstwhile a batch of modern-day guardant players are. Someone mightiness work this and accidental good I saw him bash this oregon that past year, and determination mightiness beryllium the unusual occasion, but my constituent is it is not portion of his game.

So, determination is simply a batch to similar astir Solanke but arsenic we each know, strikers are yet each judged connected goals, which is wherefore Sunday was truthful important for him aft going six games without a goal.

If it had not happened already, this was the time Tottenham fans benignant of took him successful and helium showed them precisely the subordinate helium is.

I heard them singing his sanction aft his archetypal goal, and again aft his 2nd 1 too, and if they did not afloat admit him earlier this crippled past they decidedly bash now.

He epitomised the team’s enactment ethic and blended that with a superb centre-forward’s show successful beforehand of goal.

I recognize wherefore determination is ever going to beryllium disapproval of this Spurs squad erstwhile they support trying to play successful specified a affirmative mode and lose, due to the fact that determination is simply a changeless speech astir whether Postecoglou's doctrine means determination is lone 1 mode they tin play.

The statement astir whether they request to accommodate volition proceed but, close now, erstwhile you spot the chances they make, it is cleanable for Solanke. He is going to get chances playing successful this system, and helium is bully capable to instrumentality them.

Danny Murphy was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.