Tottenham Hotspur continue their fine September form with a 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, courtesy of goals from Johnson, Kulusevski and Solanke.
Let’s take a look at the five things we learned:
Ange-ball at its very best
A lot has been made of Tottenham’s inefficiency against Big Six opponents under Ange Postecoglou, meaning this match was always going to find itself under the microscope. However, those first 40 minutes before Fernandes’ red card were among the best we have seen Ange-ball.
The fluidity of movement, range of passing, and destructive final passes were a joy to watch. Conversely, it must have been terrifying to watch as a United fan. Moving Kulusevski into a number eight role alongside Maddison has been the turning point for Spurs this season. Before, it was all-out attack, now it is simply suffocating.
That man Dejan Kulusevski
Talking of the Ginger from Sweden – what a game he had! James Maddison has started the season on fire, but Kulusevski has gone under the radar as Tottenham’s most consistent attacking threat since his switch into midfield. He makes everything look easy, whether it’s backheeling a ball around the corner to set up his teammate, flicking the ball over the goalkeeper, or finding enough second wind to win a 50-yard dash.
I would go as far as to say that Kulusevski is now up there with Micky Van de Ven as the top two players Spurs must keep fit this season.
Brennan Johnson is at it again!
We all know how it feels to be on the receiving end of a sucker punch in the first few minutes of a match, but finally it was Tottenham doing the scoring! Four goals, four matches, three competitions – Brennan Johnson take a bow. Take away his goals and the Welshman just looks like a completely different player this month.
At the start of the season, he looked scared to take on his man, now the opposition looks scared every time Brennan gets the ball. He could have even added a second goal today, had his shot not rebounded off the post. He really seems to have perfected that driven shot from a tight right angle through the defender’s legs.
Mikey Moore vs Timo Werner
No Timo Werner hate here. He always runs his socks off and works incredibly hard for the team. His running actually got him into three incredible goalscoring positions today. Twice, he should have rolled the ball past Onana to score, and the third saw him with an easy pass to set up Maddison. Unfortunately, none of those moments ended up in a goal and there lies the problem.
I think, at some point, it makes more sense for Postecoglou to roll the dice on young Mikey Moore. Even if he doesn’t settle immediately, at least you are working toward some progression for a player you want to be at the club for years to come.
One issue left to work on for Spurs
In the spirit of not getting carried away, let’s look at one thing Tottenham could have done better. Although Spurs were on top for almost the entirety of the second half, the red card did feel like an extra ‘get out of jail free card’. There was still work to be done for Spurs until that moment.
We have seen Tottenham play incredibly well but struggle to get the second goal over and over again. The team do need to improve at being clinical enough to kill games off while they are on top (without the added boost of a red card). Apart from that, it was all smiles at the office today!