Roberto De Zerbi has picked up a vital seven points in his four games since taking charge of Tottenham Hotspur. It’s a run that has seen them move one point above the relegation zone.
De Zerbi lost his first game in charge, with Tottenham beaten 1-0 by Sunderland. But, since then, the Italian has overseen a 2-2 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion and victories over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa.
Spurs have three games left to survive the drop. They face Leeds at home in their next game, before travelling to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea. Tottenham end the season at home against Everton.
In this article, we’ll cover
Numbers since taking charge
There isn’t actually a drastic change in the key metrics between De Zerbi’s reign and the combined spells of Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor.
Prior to De Zerbi’s appointment, Tottenham were averaging 49.9% possession per game. They also averaged 11.2 shots, with 3.8 on target, while scoring 1.3 goals and conceding 1.6.
Since De Zerbi’s arrival, Tottenham are averaging slightly more of the ball with 51.2% possession. This has seen a correlation to their defensive numbers, with Tottenham now only conceding 1.00 goals per game. The only game in which they have conceded more than once under De Zerbi, saw them have just 42% possession.
Tottenham have also averaged 11.3 shots per ga,e with 5.0 on target. They are scoring at the same rate, of 1.3 goals per game, but their shot production has been slightly better since the Italian arrived.
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Build up adjustments
De Zerbi is a meticulous coach when it comes to the build up phase. He looks to gain advantages against the opposition press by carefully instructing his players.
Since taking over at Tottenham, De Zerbi has found a nice blend of looking to add those ideas in the build up, while still taking advantage of their physical attributes and ability to play vertically.
In their 2-1 win over Aston Villa, De Zerbi set Tottenham up to manipulate their 4-4-2 out-of-possession scheme. It dragged Villa’s wide men away, with Pedro Porro, Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha’s positioning to form a 3-2/2-3 base shape.
They then had Destiny Udogie in the left half-space, dragging Jadon Sancho narrow to isolate Mathys Tel in one-on-ones. Rotations between Conor Gallagher and Porro on the right manipulated Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans, giving Randal Kolo Muani space out wide.
But the blend of verticality in their play has been clear, with Gallagher and Udogie joining the front three to win second balls and gain territory. Tottenham are happy to go long if they attract the press and leave a five-on-five situation at the top of the pitch.
De Zerbi has clearly instilled a confidence in his players to come towards each other in the build up and combine/trust their technical quality, while still giving them the option to go long when it’s the best option.
This comes from the profiling of players. Not having Palhinha receiving with his back to play under pressure, but instead dropping into the first line to face play, using Bentancur to drive through the midfield and utilising Gallagher’s industry to roam and connect with his relentless running.
Aggressive press
De Zerbi has been clear with his team selection that he wants his side to press with intensity from the front, picking Gallagher to lead the press with Richarlison in advanced areas.
This was on display against Aston Villa, as Richarlison would look to keep Lamare Bogarde in his cover shadow, then going to apply pressure to Victor Lindelof.
Gallagher would stay tight to Tielemans in the pivot, while both Tel and Kolo Muani took up half-and-half positions to cover the full-backs and protect the half-spaces by narrowing off.
Tottenham were set up to jump playing in a hybrid press, which was triggered by Richarlison’s jump at the top of the pitch toward Lindelof.
If Bogarde was then accessed in Richarlison’s cover shadow, Bentancur would jump to apply pressure, leaving Micky van de Ven to jump up and take the spare man between the lines, jumping fully man to man.
The other set of jumps occured down Tottenham’s right-hand side. Kolo Muani was responsible for Tyrone Mings when he was on the ball, leaving Porro to jump and cover Ian Maatsen, while Palhinha took Ross Barkley and Kevin Danso took Morgan Rogers.
De Zerbi will be hoping his side can keep their blend of a high intensity out of possession approach, while also implementing a mix of his build up ideas and verticality in these final games of the season, as they look to complete the great escape and start planning ahead of next season together.