Tottenham need to continue their winning momentum after a thumping victory against Charlton on Wednesday.
Tottenham fans were expecting their side to come out with all guns blazing when they took on Charlton Athletic in the 2nd round of the Carabao Cup. And credit to Roberto de Zerbi’s men, as they delivered a five-star performance at home to right the wrongs of last weekend’s humiliating defeat against Brentford. The Lilywhites were on point and managed to dominate the match from start to finish against Charlton.
Five goals, five different goal-scorers, and five impactful substitutions. That was the story of Spurs’ one-sided victory in the Carabao Cup. The starting front three consisted of Mathys Tel, Dominic Solanke, and Mikey Moore, and it is fair to suggest that all three players managed to make their mark in one way or another. Mikey Moore opened the scoring for the North Londoners in the 41st minute, thanks to a superb left-footed strike from the right flank.
Dominic Solanke followed suit shortly after with a quick reactionary half-volley from close range inside the box. Spurs led the game comfortably at half-time, with the tie seemingly over by the looks of it. But that did not slow down the Lilywhites, who continued to attack until the final whistle. Kevin Danso got on the scoresheet with a thumping header in the second half to make it 3-0. Then came Savio for a debut to remember, as the Brazilian managed to score and assist in quick succession to complete a five-star performance.
Lot of positives to take for Roberto de Zerbi from Tottenham’s positive display
Roberto de Zerbi fielded a strong starting eleven that saw £85m summer signing Mateus Fernandes start his first game for the club. There were two changes made at the back as well, with Destiny Udogie and Ben Davies returning to the team to make their first appearances of the season. And it is fair to say that the Lilywhites worked in tandem to progress through to the next round of the Carabao Cup.
De Zerbi has now shared his thoughts on the North London club’s strong performance against Charlton Athletic. Speaking in his post-match press conference (via Football London), the Spurs boss said,
“The order on the pitch, but there are two different games. Compare the game in Brentford, different game, man to man, all duels on the pitch in Brentford. Today we controlled the game, we stayed 80% of the game, 90% of the game in their half of the pitch, we played with order. We can improve in the last third of the pitch with combinations, with attacking the space or one-to-one, for sure.”
The Italian tactician added,
“We can be better in the finishing of the ball possession, but anyway, we kept very well the pitch, we moved the ball quickly, like I want, we scored. I’m sorry for the goal we conceded, because we have to, like I said, we have to change the habits, we have to be hungry for the goal we conceded.”
Room for improvement for Tottenham?
As Roberto de Zerbi rightly points out, Tottenham faced a different challenge against Charlton compared to what they had to go through at the Gtech Stadium on Saturday. The Lilywhites controlled the tempo of the game well at home, making sure that most of the match was played in the attacking half. However, the Italian tactician does believe that the attackers could have shown more urgency and developed a few combinations during certain instances.
The North Londoners kept the tempo high for most of the game. But it is fair to suggest that De Zerbi’s men lacked the finishing touch, despite scoring five goals in less than 60 minutes. The Spurs boss also insists that his team needs to understand the importance of keeping a clean sheet after conceding a late consolation goal against Charlton.
