Craig Burley has claimed there are still question marks over Tottenham’s midfield as Antonio Conte’s men have got ‘bossed’ in the middle of the park on multiple occasions this season.
The numbers so far this season make very good reading for Spurs, with the Lilywhites having picked up 17 points out of the 21 on offer so far.
Conte’s men are the only team apart from Manchester City who are still unbeaten in the Premier League and have scored the second most goals in the division after Pep Guardiola’s side.
However, despite the positive results, some of Tottenham’s performances have been far from convincing, which has led to some people questioning whether the North London club’s current run of form is sustainable (talkSPORT).
Burley has now become the latest pundit to question whether Spurs can keep getting results despite allowing the opposition to dominate possession-wise and territorially.
The pundit suggested that the midfielder pairing of Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg could leave Tottenham’s backline exposed.
The former Chelsea midfielder told ESPN FC: “I worry about that four in the middle getting exposed and exposing that backline of Dier, Davies and Romero.
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“Then you have Bentancur and Hojbjerg. Bentancur is clever on the ball, and Hojbjerg is more of a grafter. Is that strong enough in the middle of the park? I think there are question marks there
“It does concern me that they do get bossed a bit in midfield. And, yes I hear ‘we are happy to do that because we can hit teams on the counter’. Whether you can do that all season remains to be seen.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Tottenham’s defensive record since Conte took over suggests that the pairing of Bentancur and Hojbjerg does provide sufficient cover to the backline.
Burley’s doubts over whether it is sustainable for Spurs to continue playing in this manner while picking up results, is understandable.
However, I would argue that Tottenham’s inability to dominate midfield is not due to personnel but rather down to the fact that Conte players a two-man midfield.
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