Speaking to the press after his side continued their unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign, Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou revealed his thinking behind the substitutions he made during the win over Sheffield United.
Tottenham went into the international break with three wins and a draw from the first four games of the new league season, with Ange Postecoglou making an instant impact at the club.
A home game against newly-promoted Sheffield United this afternoon would look, on paper at least, to be a straightforward three points for Spurs. That wasn’t the case on the day, however, with the Blades pushing the Lilywhites all the way to the 110th minute.
Despite Tottenham dominating possession and having the lion’s share of the chances, Sheffield United took the lead after 73 minutes. With his side trailing, Postecoglou brought on new boy Brennan Johnson, Ivan Perisic, and Richarlison in the 80th minute, and all three had a say in the final result.
Postecoglou explains his super subs
Johnson had a goal disallowed shortly after coming on, but Richarlison found the back of the net in the 98th minute to level the scores thanks to an assist from Ivan Perisic. Richarlison then set up Dejan Kulusevski for the winner two minutes later.
On his decision to change things, Postecoglou told Football.London: “I was thinking that [there would be a lot of added time when deciding when to use the subs] although I was worried when I saw just three minutes in the first half. We were still on top while they were dangerous from long throws and set pieces. I was conscious that there might be 10 minutes at the end at least.”
Spurs Web Opinion
It’s always satisfying to see substitutions working like they did today, and I think it’s just further proof that Spurs have really good strength in depth right now. This is particularly evident in attacking areas, and it seems we can look to the bench and have a few different options to change a game now.
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