BBC’s Match of The Day have revealed that Tottenham Hotspur have not conceded a single Premier League goal under Antonio Conte when Eric Dier, Oliver Skipp and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg have started for the side.
Just when it seemed like Tottenham were becoming hard to beat under Conte, the wheels have seemingly started to come off over the last week.
Two back-to-back losses at home against Southampton and Wolves have come as major setbacks for the club’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League. Some of Tottenham’s defending in both matches have left a lot to be desired in the absence of some key players.
While Skipp and Dier have been out injured for both matches, Hojbjerg was benched by Conte for the game against Wolves, with Rodrigo Bentancur making his first start for the side alongside Harry Winks in the middle of the park.
Tottenham certainly leaked plenty of chances against Bruno Lage’s men and the stats suggest it was because of the absence of the aforementioned players.
MOTD have revealed that in the five matches that Hojbjerg, Skipp and Dier have started under Conte, Spurs have not conceded a single goal.
In contrast, in the seven matches when the three have not all started together, Conte’s men have conceded 13 goals.
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There is no doubt that Dier is the man who organises our backline. Our defence has been all over the place at times without the 27-year-old’s leadership.
What was also apparent against Wolves was the fact that we need at least one of Skipp and Hojbjerg to sense danger and to put off flames in the middle of the park.
Bentancur has shown that he has a good defensive instinct but the Uruguayan is settling into the Premier League and it will take at least a few months before we see the best of him.
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