With yet another international break looming, Tottenham Hotspur headed to Elland Road to take on Leeds United, a venue where the home side had not lost a league match in over a year. Spurs would have been hoping this match could be a return to form following the stodgy performances of recent weeks, and though not all questions were answered by the performance, there was enough there to at least silence those asking temporarily.
Thomas Frank made a number of changes following Spurs’ Champions League
draw against Bodo/Glimt in midweek: Mathys Tel made a rare start up top for Richarlison; Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero returned at the back; and Joao Palhinha, Mohammed Kudus, and Xavi Simons also made the XI, at the expense of Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall, and Brennan Johnson. The rotation initially appeared to present itself as a lack of cohesion, with Spurs starting the match a bit off the pace, before things developed into more of an end-to-end affair. Leeds should have opened the scoring: Spurs alum Joe Rodon clattered the far post with a header off a free kick that Guglielmo Vicario misjudged; but instead, Spurs took first advantage, as Mathys Tel drove into the Leeds penalty area after being fed by Kudus and took a speculative shot at goal. The attempt deflected off the leg of Pascal Struijk, which was enough to tip the ball over the outstretched palm of Karl Darlow in goal.
The opportunities for either side didn’t stop there, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin presented with a chance following a Spurs giveaway, and Kudus slicing an opportunity well wide after being teed up by Destiny Udogie. Leeds, however, were the next side to hit the back of the net, as Brenden Aaronson gave himself enough space for a shot following Calvert-Lewin’s knock-down. Aaronson’s effort deflected off Romero’s leg, meaning Vicario could only palm it out into a dangerous area, and Noah Okafor was on hand for a tap-in.
With the score one apiece going into the second half, Spurs began to take more of an ascendancy, albeit with Leeds still offering a threat. Vicario made an excellent kick save on a Calvert-Lewin shot, before Leeds fizzed a cross across the face of Spurs’ goal, in some nervy moments for the Lilywhite defense. Instead of capitulating, though, Spurs struck at the other end. Kudus dribbled at Struijk, before unleashing a strike from the top of the 18-yard area through the legs of the Dutch defender. It took a slight deflection and nestled just inside the right upright.
From there, Thomas Frank opted to shift to defensive mode, bringing in reinforcements via way of the bench. Daniel Farke also pulled from his bench as his side hunted for a goal, but Spurs held firm outside of a couple of half-chances and one very good Vicario save off another Calvert-Lewin shot. After a late flurry of Leeds set pieces, the referee blew the whistle and Spurs took a hard-fought 2-1 win into the break.
Reactions
- It’s nice to secure another three points, rather than just one.
- There seemed to be a bit more cohesion this time around for Spurs in their build-up, though things still aren’t great in that respect. The left side interplay between Xavi Simons, Destiny, and Wilson Odobert especially was really good, and it seemed should have generated more shooting opportunities.
- That said, Xavi was often having to drop VERY deep to pick up the ball because the midfield double pivot just could not find him. I’m still not a fan of playing Bentancur and Palhinha together for this reason, especially as it didn’t even seem to give Spurs that much in the way of defensive solidity today.
- Xavi, though. He is a lot of fun to watch. Keep playing him at the #10, Thomas.
- Destiny Udogie was really good today. He’s won his starting spot back as far as I’m concerned, though obviously Frank will continue to rotate as needed.
- Though you can certainly be critical of Guglielmo Vicario for that early Rodon chance, it’s hard to be too harsh on him for Leeds’ goal, considering the deflection – though I have seen some fans do so anyway. He really came to the fore though as the match progressed, making a number of excellent saves.
- It’s kinda weird that all three goals came from deflections, right? That can’t be a hugely common occurrence.
- The refereeing. Hoo boy. Way to call absolutely nothing for around half an hour then wonder why all the players start clattering each other. Then immediately start calling absolutely everything. The players were clearly confused, as the way this match was refereed was all over the place for both sides. Get some consistency! There were a couple of flashpoints that could have been avoided.
- Hey, three points before an international break… and Spurs are temporarily up to second! COYS!
