Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United shared the points as Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s penalty secured a 1-1 draw for the away side.
Spurs opened the scoring through a phenomenal curling effort from Mathys Tel. Roberto De Zerbi’s side were on top throughout, but it was a costly error that gifted Leeds the chance to get back into the game.
Tel attempted an acrobatic clearance inside his own box, only to collide with the head of Ethan Ampadu. After a VAR review, a penalty was awarded, and Calvert-Lewin stepped up to dispatch into the top corner.
Overall, De Zerbi might feel that he coached a win that was undone by a crucial error. Tottenham had moments where they looked incredibly threatening, but they didn’t create consistently enough.
In this article, we’ll cover
Tottenham looked to dominate centrally
Leeds have been incredibly dominant in central areas this season, and it’s been a key reason why they dragged themselves away from the relegation zone. Tottenham identified this, looking to try and gain a numerical advantage in the middle.
Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro would both invert from full-back into the middle of the park, creating overloads essentially in order to nullify Leeds’ threat. This meant Tottenham could find a free man in the build-up, allowing them to break through Leeds’ press.
Leeds set up with a three at the back system, but still kept three players in the middle of the park so they could try and dominate the midfield. Tottenham also had three players centrally plus the inverted full-backs, meaning they could dominate central areas, enjoying plenty of possession.
To beat Leeds, you often have to beat them in the middle of the park. It’s a key reason why they signed a player like Anton Stach, looking to be physically dominant in midfield. Tottenham aren’t a very dominant side, especially aerially, so creating numerical advantages was their key to winning the midfield battle.
Unfortunately for them, winning the midfield battle wasn’t enough. When you struggle to create consistent chances to score goals, one mistake can undo all of your work.
De Zerbi creating chaos
Tottenham have a severe lack of creativity in their side with the likes of James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Xavi Simons, and Mohammed Kudus all missing for large parts of the season. As a result, when De Zerbi came in, he needed to find ways of creating opportunities using different methods.
When De Zerbi arrived at the club, he suggested that there was going to be less of an emphasis on heavy tactical work with so little time remaining to save them from relegation.
“My work is not so much on the pitch, they are good guys, I feel sorry for them,” he said.
“I can be a big brother, father – they don’t need a coach. They don’t need to improve football. They need confidence… Once we are able to win a game, everything will change.”
The former Brighton and Hove Albion manager admitted that it was all about instilling confidence rather than massively altering the tactical plan. Instead, De Zerbi needed to work game by game, and Tottenham look to create chaos in matches in order to create opportunities.
Tottenham’s primary method of attack against Leeds was to commit bodies forward and get crosses into the box. This can create chaos, whether it be picking up loose balls, winning set pieces, or simply trying to win aerial duels to score.
Mathys Tel was crucial to this, regularly cutting inside onto his right foot and delivering inswinging crosses. These kinds of deliveries are difficult for the opposition to deal with, even if they have an aerial advantage.
Despite the constant bombardment from Tottenham, Leeds manage to deal with the onslaught well for the most part.
Chaos-ball not enough for Tottenham
Unfortunately for Tottenham, creating chaos isn’t a consistent or reliable way of winning football matches. It creates too many variables and different outcomes, and it’s also tricky to pin back teams in the final third when you’re consistently delivering crosses.
Between Porro and Tel, they attempted nine crosses between them. Maddison, who came off the bench late on, also attempted five. There was a desperation to Tottenham after Leeds’ equaliser, pumping crosses into the box with little thought or precision.
Leeds, who will have been content with a draw, sat deeper than they did before the goal. This led to many bodies inside the box, making it difficult for Tottenham to fashion out chances.
It’s understandable as to why De Zerbi is implementing this kind of style at this stage of the season. But it would certainly be a surprise to see it become their long-term plan.