Five Takeaways Following Tottenham's Win Over Sunderland
Tottenham hands Sunderland another defeat after winning 1-0 at White Hart Lane.
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Mauricio Pochettino, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur (L) and David Moyes, Manager of Sunderland (R) embrace before kick off during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland at White Hart Lane on September 18, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)
For the past few days following a disappointing loss to AS Monaco in the Champions League, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino called out his team for not playing with enough passion and aggression.
It was a harsh reality for a team who had been struggling due to a difficult summer with the Euros and pre-season. Because of this, they underwent a slow start in their opening four Premier League games despite going undefeated.
Against a struggling Sunderland side, a win was a must for Pochettino’s squad.
First, it was to climb back up the table to cement themselves as one of the early-season favorites to contend for the league title. Second, Spurs needed to show that losing to Monaco by having a bad first half was an anomaly.
After 90 minutes at White Hart Lane, Tottenham did enough to claim all three points, though at a cost. Here are five takeaways following today’s match.
Mousa Dembélé and Moussa Sissoko earn their first start
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Tottenham Hotspur’s Mousa Dembele and Sunderland’s Steven Pienaar during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland at White Hart Lane on September 18, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images,)
Mousa Dembélé who has just returned from a six-match ban made a substitution appearance against Monaco in the Champions League, while Moussa Sissoko also came off the bench against Stoke City and Monaco.
Both of them hadn’t earn their first start until today.
The 29-year-old Belgian midfielder was a key cog in Spurs’ well-oiled machine that came close to winning the Premier League title last season before he was suspended and Tottenham’s form abruptly dropped as a result.
With Dembélé in the starting lineup, Spurs’ central midfield was back to its usual self. Stopping opponents from getting through, maintaining possession and providing help in attack when an opportunity arose.
This is something that had been missing to begin the 2016-17 Premier League season.
As for Sissoko, having him start when Érik Lamela is on the bench to get rest will be vital this term.
Last year, Mauricio Pochettino didn’t have a backup player to call upon which meant that Lamela would remain in the starting lineup for a majority of the season.
This time around, Moussa Sissoko could get some starts in place of the Argentine winger to keep Spurs’ offense moving.
Overall, the 27-year-old Frenchman was very solid in his first-ever start for Spurs. Sissoko gives Pochettino another option when coming up with a gameplan depending on the opponent.
Pochettino rotated his starting lineup just a bit
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Jan Vertonghen of Tottenham Hotspur and Hugo Lloris of Tottenham Hotspur speak during the warm up during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland at White Hart Lane on September 18, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Coming off of their Champions League fixture on Wednesday night, Mauricio Pochettino was always going to rotate his side for the next game.
He’s done so the past couple of seasons when Spurs played on Thursday nights in the Europa League.
But upon further review of his starting XI, a couple of additions were made while some shifting was done at the backline.
Tottenham’s central midfield would feature Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembélé. Wanyama starting games relies heavily on the amount of rest that Eric Dier would get.
Over at the wide positions were Son Heung-Min (earning his third consecutive start in all competitions) and Moussa Sissoko.
Spurs’ backline saw Jan Vertonghen at left-back and Eric Dier at left center-back.
As odd as it looked with some shifting and a strong starting XI being named, Spurs weren’t under any pressure as Sunderland’s offense was practically non-existent. David Moyes opted to defend for a majority of the game which worked in Spurs’ favor after not resting more starters.
Having Christian Eriksen and Érik Lamela sitting on the bench would generally be a risk as they are two of Spurs’ better players, but against a struggling Sunderland team, they managed to earn some rest.
Lamela came in for the remaining 16 minutes of the game but for the most part, sat out this match and only being brought on to hold onto a 1-0 lead.
All in all, Mauricio Pochettino got to experiment with some lineup changes and should do the same against Gillingham in the League Cup.
Spurs start strong but trail off
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Erik Lamela of Tottenham Hotspu reacts to missing a chance during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland at White Hart Lane on September 18, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
The first 45 minutes against Sunderland was a dominant effort. Spurs would go on the offensive early and often testing the 22-year-old Jordan Pickford with 19 shots, six of which were on target.
On a few occasions, Spurs should have gone ahead if it weren’t for some fine goalkeeping by Pickford who was earning his fifth Premier League appearance in his young career.
Tottenham’s offense would march up the field, mostly on the left flank with Son Heung-Min, before sending in dangerous crosses that would have to be cleared away.
After not being able to use the spacious Wembley pitch to their advantage, Spurs managed to stretch Sunderland’s defense from left to right and through the middle.
Spurs wouldn’t score a goal in the opening 45 minutes, but it was obvious that they came out looking to put their last first half performance against Monaco behind them.
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Unfortunately, when the second half began, Spurs’ pace dropped a bit.
They were still getting good looks and forcing Jordan Pickford to make some more saves, but Sunderland managed to go on the offensive too.
Credit to them as David Moyes’ side started to grow as the game wore on, causing Spurs to actually defend more than they did in the first half.
A Harry Kane tap-in just before the hour-mark after a Moussa Sissoko cross wasn’t properly cleared away by Papy Dijlobodji, gave Tottenham a slim 1-0 lead that they held onto for the remainder of the game.
Spurs still have trouble playing the full 90 minutes — a difficult thing to do in general — but it’s reassuring that they came out the gates flying after losing on Wednesday night.
Son has had a bright start this season
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Heung-Min Son of Tottenham Hotspur (L) and Lamine Koné of Sunderland (R) battle for possession during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland at White Hart Lane on September 18, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)
The South Korean international missed Spurs’ opening three games due to the Rio Olympics but has hit the ground running in his previous three appearances.
Against Stoke City, the 24-year-old recorded a brace and had an assist. While his form didn’t carry over against Monaco he still played okay. In 90 minutes versus Sunderland, Son was a constant threat.
He was lively from start to finish, always willing to take on his defenders — especially Javier Manquillo, Sunderland’s right-back. His corners were dangerous in the first half with Toby Alderweireld being unlucky to score after Jordan Pickford saved it.
The only real negative in Son’s overall game, is that his corners didn’t have the same pace when it was being whipped in during the second half. That’s it, the rest of the time he was phenomenal.
For a player who has had his Spurs career start off slowly because of a foot injury last September, the form of Dele Alli taking over as the central attacking mid, and the Olympics, Son looks like he will be a regular in Mauricio Pochettino’s plans for the second consecutive season.
But perhaps he will earn more starts as opposed to coming off the bench like he did last season.
Christian Eriksen who played a handful of matches at left midfield last term could see his spot be in jeopardy if Son’s performances continue after a good start in just three games this year.
Spurs were hit with a trifecta of injuries
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur gets treatment from the Tottenham Hotspur medical team on the side of the pitch during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland at White Hart Lane on September 18, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Against Sunderland, Spurs had five players go down. Toby Alderweireld and Kyle Walker managed to continue playing even after receiving minor knocks.
But Mousa Dembélé and Eric Dier had to be subbed off for Érik Lamela and Ben Davies respectively, in a span of three minutes.
The worst injury would be Harry Kane’s as he hurt his ankle while going in for a tackle to win the ball back. He would leave the pitch on his own power, but Kane would need a stretcher to reach the treatment room.
Thus far, since the season began on August 13th, Tottenham have seen Hugo Lloris, Danny Rose, Dembélé, Dier and now Kane suffer knocks.
Lloris is back, Rose should return soon, Dembélé and Dier’s hamstring injuries don’t look too serious — they were probably taken off as a precaution — but injuries are starting to add up.
Spurs have depth after bringing in players during the summer transfer window, but it’s never good to see injuries pile up after a new league season begins.
No doubt playing in the Champions League took its toll on Mousa Dembélé (still getting back to full fitness), Eric Dier and Harry Kane. At the same time, instead of slightly rotating the starting XI like Mauricio Pochettino did, perhaps it would have been better to give his key starters a break.
Up next is Gillingham in the League Cup at White Hart Lane on September 21st.
Because this is a cup fixture, Pochettino should fully rotate his lineup against the League One side. If the Argentine manager doesn’t then he’s most likely trying to win this trophy at the end of the season.
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