James Maddison stood out in Tottenham’s win over Man City

James Maddison has been a curious case at Tottenham Hotspur in recent weeks, it is fair to say. At first, the Englishman was thought to have been excluded from Ange Postecoglou’s plans after being left out of the starting eleven in two of the team’s previous three matches in the Premier League before the Manchester City win, whereas his performance against the Citizens at the Etihad perhaps showed that his manager has unlocked a new dimension of the former Leicester City star.

Indeed, with two goals to his name, Maddison proved to be the difference maker when Spurs ran riot over Man City on Saturday’s matchday 12 meeting between the two sides. The two goals, scored with his left foot in pretty different situations, did still have a common element between themselves, which were the English international’s late runs into the box. It was the first time we saw Madders being handed such a role at Tottenham though it could now be a sign of good things to come.

Manchester City did not defend very compactly, which allowed an extra man to get into the box very easily and Maddison was there to take full advantage of the situation. Not just his goals, his overall gameplay prove that he was in the thick of it for Tottenham more often than not. As per data from Fotmob, he completed 89% of the 49 passes he attempted, and had a 100% success rate while dribbling, all while being a part of six defensive actions and making five recoveries when playing without the ball.

Having already transformed Dejan Kulusevski into a hardworking midfielder who has been given the license to get into the box, it is starting to look like Maddison’s profile is also being developed with somewhat of a similar view in mind. Admittedly, the 28-year-old is not the most energetic player on the pitch on several occasions but with the game moving increasingly closer to a high octane style, the onus is on Postecoglou to get the best out of a midfielder he clearly sees a lot of value in.

In truth, it was the first time in a Tottenham kit that James Maddison was handed the license to make late runs into the box if memory serves right and the player executed his responsibility to good effect. Perhaps Spurs could benefit from that going forward as well as Dominic Solanke usually it outmuscled and outnumbered in the box with Son Heung-min and Brennan Johnson being caught out in the wider positions more often than not. It will be interesting to see what comes of Maddison’s utility to the offensive department.

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It could not have been a better birthday as well for Tottenham star as he contributed to a historic win for his team. It is only fair to add that talks regarding his future, a topic that had gained traction over the international break, will reduce hereon, especially if Postecoglou uses him in a more advanced and dynamic role going forward. Spurs face AS Roma midweek in the UEFA Europa League and it will be exciting to see how they fair and how James Maddison does too after a resounding display against Man City.