DOM-INANCE
Nine things we learned from beating Villa 4-1.
Pape Matar Sarr is an increasingly important player in this squad. When Ange found joy with the combination of James Maddison and Deki Kulusevski as twin 8s or 10s or 8/10 hybrids (no wish to get into that debate right now) it’d almost seemed as if Sarr had become a forgotten man in this lineup. But then Ange took off Madders at halftime v. West Ham in favor of Sarr to shore up the center of the pitch. On Sunday, he started him against Villa to combat their midfield, and our Senegalese star responded with a performance that, with apologies to Solanke (see below), has earned Sarr USMOTM honors. He kept us in the match in the first half as a box-to-box presence and was a big part in holding the visitors scoreless in open play. And he was at the center of the action in the second half, making a key interception and pass on our third goal.
Ange DGAF who you are. In our last three matches, our skipper has substituted all three captains/vice-captains off the field. He sat Madders for Sarr at HT of the West Ham match. He took Romero off the pitch at the 52’ mark in our cup match with City. And he hooked Sonny after 56 minutes v. Villa. Much like the Madders sub had seemed, Sonny’s trip off the pitch felt unfair given he’d just assisted the equalizer with a brilliant delivery and just as we were on the front foot. But Ange later said he had a plan to manage our captain’s minutes after his recent injury and he stuck to that. Unfortunately, as Bardi from The Extra Inch notes, that substitution ultimately led to Romero getting injured on a challenge moments after Son’s replacement, Richarlison, was dispossessed.
…but Ange does have a plan B! Yes, that was Destiny Udogie you saw overlapping with Son. In the early stages of Ange’s first season at Tottenham, it’d seemed as if he’d cracked the code with his inverted fullbacks, but he’s since shown some flexibility in his system. Just don’t expect the media to admit this anytime soon.
Johnson has a nose for goal. Brennan’s detractors haven’t been making as much noise of late. He keeps scoring, as he did Sunday to draw us even on Sunday. Even when he’s not scoring, he’s getting himself into positions, and his confidence seems to be growing every week. He may never be a 1v1 specialist, but I’ve always believed he will play a valuable role in the squad. Right now, he’s more than that and has made himself a must-start.
Dom Solanke is perfect fit for Ange’s system. He hasn’t been prolific in scoring so far this season, but it wasn’t for lack of work ethic. He tirelessly presses—in fact, presses more than anyone else in the attacking end—and offers the hold-up play we sorely lacked last season. Meanwhile, he remained patient, stayed ready for his chances, and took them on Sunday with a brace that won the match…and nearly had one or two others. His first goal v. Villa was such a calm take, a clever chip over Emi Martinez that came off looking like the touch of a Golden Boot contender midway through a campaign. I’m so glad he’s on our team. For his second-half brace, Dom is our Spur of the Moment.
Kulusevski is our most important attacker. Once again, he put on a clinic. His through ball to set up Solanke’s chip reminded me of Dele’s underrated delivery to Lucas Moura for the goal that sent us through to the Champions League final. And Deki’s press helped produce the wayward pass that Sarr intercepted in the lead-up to our third goal.
Vicario is still weak on corners. Yes, the way referees have allowed him to be fouled again and again on corners is disgraceful. But on Villa’s only goal, which seemed to have been deflected goalward off Pedro Porro’s head, Vicario was not fouled but once again found himself bodied out of position. On the corner preceding that one, Vicario punched away a ball that many a keeper would’ve brought into their chest. Venom is an elite shot stopper, but I must admit I’m beginning to doubt we can challenge for the title given how little margin for error there is in PL-winning campaigns.
James Maddison is a team player. He hasn’t sulked as he’s assumed a supporting role to Deki in recent matches. Instead, he stayed ready and took his chance when sent onto the pitch late in the match. Madders snuck a clever, quick kick just inside the top right corner in stoppage time. His strike meant we had tallied 4-1 home wins in our last two Premier League home matches. Ange took particular delight the goal as he had reportedly said Maddison would make a contribution later in the match.
We are deceptively good. After another 4-1 home win, I was so quick to post our goal differential is now second-best in the Premiership that I’d missed altogether that we now lead the league in goals, period—this in the post-Kane era and with Son scoring just 3 so far. This speaks to the system Ange has installed at Spurs, and the “naïve” storyline from last season now smells stale. I don’t think we’re title challengers yet, but in this second year of our long-fabled painful rebuild, we are literally just a non-foul call on a shady Arsenal goal in the NLD from being a point above them in the table.
Next up: A Thursday trip to Galatasaray. COYS!!!!