Tottenham were held to a 1-1 draw against Leeds United.
Tottenham did have a strong game against Leeds United, but let’s be honest, this was nowhere near the flawless game that the Lilywhites had against Aston Villa last weekend.
But along the game there were enough tactical nitty-gritties; that’s how this side is already moving towards a Roberto De Zerbi team.
While the North Londoners showed flashes of controlled buildup with aggressive pressing, there were also moments in the game that showed how things are still chaotic for Spurs at the back alongside poor decisions that could have easily seen stronger teams punish them big time.
Here are TTLB’s biggest winners and losers from Tottenham Hotspur vs Leeds United
Winners
Mathys Tel
While the Frenchman gave away a very poor penalty in the second half, if we are speaking offensively, it was nothing short of a statement performance from him.
The former Bayern Munich wide forward was quite dangerous throughout the game (even before he found himself on the scoresheet). He had that one brilliant dribble in the first half that nearly ended up in the back of Karlow’s net, only for a heavy touch to let him down. But Tel did eventually find a breakthrough in style.
His curled finish into the top corner was just purely outstanding. It was technically a perfect first touch before he finessed that home. This is exactly the kind of consistency that Tottenham fans have been hungry for all season.
Tel looked quite comfortable operating in a fluid attacking structure. He combined well in overloads down that left flank and remained dangerous whenever Tottenham switched play quickly towards him.
Joao Palhinha
While Tottenham still question whether they should sign him on a permanent transfer, he is putting in consistent top-level performances. And tonight was another really intelligent midfield display from Palhinha.
The Portuguese was not simply sitting at the base of the midfield to get better of Leeds’ play, but he was constantly adjusting his positioning depending on the sequence and where the ball was. At times he helped Tottenham build on the left side, while then there were sequences where Palhinha supported the buildup on the right.
Those rotations formed by Palhinha gave Tottenham more control, especially in possession. And then his presence on the wide left also allowed Destiny Udogie to express himself offensively.
Palhinha nearly capped his performance with yet another goal after he came into space from a well-worked 4v3 overload on the left side. He ended up skiing the finish, but the movement in itself to end up there shows how involved he was becoming in attacking phases.
There is also a clear sense of chemistry developing between Palhinha, Rodrigo Bentancur and Conor Gallagher, with all three of them rotating. It is a midfield structure that looks more fluid than it has looked all season.
James Maddison
The former Leicester City maestro has been among bench options for a while now, but Tottenham fans finally got a glimpse of him on the pitch. He hasn’t featured for Tottenham since his last appearance in the Europa League semi-finals last season, and the Lilywhites did miss him big time this campaign, but finally he got those minutes under his belt.
And the reaction from Tottenham fans, a sense of joy (almost of celebration), shows how much his returns mean at N17.
Now he has an important role to play from hereon till the end of the season to ensure Spurs’ survival in the English top tier.
Losers
Randal Kolo Muani
Tottenham were repeatedly trying to release Muani in behind Leeds’ defence early. And time and again the Frenchman did find himself attacking that right-hand space a few times in dangerous transitional moments. But let’s be honest, the final actions from him were nothing short of disappointing.
Those in behind runs could have been so much more, but one run ended with a poor cross while another resulted in a wasted attack after getting in behind once again. There were multiple situations where he made rushed decisions instead of slowing the moment down.
And this lack of composure stood out even more because the runs from him, in themselves, were good. Though the thing is, when you play in the Premier League, you rarely get these opportunities in behind. You have to make the best of it.
Kevin Danso
Now this game from Danso is more of mixed feelings. He had a positive game, but also there he exposed the defence with his aggressive risks on the defensive side of things.
There were moments where he looked excellent stepping forward to win duels, especially early in the game against Leeds #9 Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
While his front-foot defending approach helped the North Londoners to have that sense of territorial pressure for long spells of the game, then, as I stated above, there were also signs of warning.
He occasionally looked too eager to jump into challenges on the aggressive side of things even when Tottenham already had enough numbers around the ball. One challenge in particular felt very Cristian Romero-like (emotional, aggressive and slightly unnecessary given Tottenham were on an overload).