Trapped in a glass case of emotion
That was one of the wildest games of Spurs football I've ever seen
If I went back in time to tell y’all that Davinson Sánchez would score two goals in Spurs’ FA Cup match with Everton, but we would still lose the game, would you have believed me?
I’m still in a bit of disbelief myself about a few things. For one, that we could have one of our highest-scoring games of the season (again, finally, etc.) yet end up losing 5-4. For another, that we are still suffering multiple individual errors from our defense each game! We can have a debate about attack-first versus defense-first tactics—which style Mourinho favors and which will actually win us games—but it’s kind of a moot point when the backline (and some of the midfield) players can’t even lock down the basics. Even the most attacking teams still need to have a competent defense to deal with counterattacks and avoid giving up easy set pieces.
What was really frustrating from today’s game is that although we got the early goal (Sánchez’s first came from a header in the 3rd minute), for once we didn’t park the bus. We kept trying for another goal and came so close on multiple chances, but the finishing wasn’t there. That’s starting to become a familiar story. And then all hell broke loose in the defense. We conceded three goals in seven minutes. Spurs ended up having to make not one but two comebacks to send the match to extra time and didn’t have a third comeback in them to reach a penalty shootout. I think it’s fair to say that we fans experienced every emotion possible during this match, but the lingering one will be a sense of regret at opportunities squandered.
So no, even though today’s attack-forward style of play was a vast improvement in terms of watchability, it wasn’t enough to make up for poor defense. I don’t want to pin the loss on any one player because I don’t think that’s productive, but we definitely needed to see better performance from the likes of Lloris (seriously, how did he not save DCL’s shot that he got hands on when he’s made so many world-class saves lately?), Højbjerg (having a rare off night, and his second such against Everton—are the Toffees his kryptonite?), and even Alderweireld (the nutmeg… sigh). Sánchez was also culpable, despite his contributions on the attacking end. I appreciate that Davies was trying to get forward and create chances for the forwards like Doherty, but his pace was often lacking when tracking back.
Oh, and did I mention that Everton’s best scorer, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, went off just after halftime with an injury? Everton looked shaken after this set-back and our quick response with Sánchez’s second goal, but we didn’t capitalize on their instability enough.
Although I appreciated Mourinho’s starting lineup choices and the overall tactics, his subs once again left a lot to be desired, with the caveat that injuries gave us limited options. Kane was the one sub who truly made an impact with a clutch 83rd-minute goal—assisted by Son of course, who officially recorded two assists for the night and only missed out on a third due to deflection. On that note, we can be happy about how much Sonny’s corners have improved this season! If this was Dele’s big chance to impress and be in with a shout to play the next game, he certainly didn’t take advantage. He was largely anonymous, and wasteful at times. Winks was simply disastrous—lost his man for one of the goals, picked up a yellow card, and misplaced a crucial pass for a last-minute equalizer. Vinícius and Sissoko also failed to impact the game, and both replaced two of our better performers of the match (Lamela and Doherty). I was particularly disappointed to see Lamela subbed off, not only because he was probably our best player on the night along with Son and got a huge goal right before halftime to give us hope for the second half, but also because he would have been a great candidate for penalty kicks if it came to it. So while our missed chances earlier in the match were what truly kept us from winning despite defensive blunders, these substitutions didn’t help.
I’m disappointed that we couldn’t pull it off in the end, but I do feel a little heartened that we showed so much energy, persistence, and resilience throughout the game (mostly—see the substitutions commentary above). Some of the result can be chalked up to the “magic of the cup” and the unpredictability of these knock-out ties. Form really does go out the window, for better or for worse (or both!). We looked like a much different team than we’ve seen lately, building a bit on the improvements in attack from the West Brom match on the weekend but with the return of the defensive woes we had in our three-game losing streak. And in fairness, Everton’s defense was almost as poor as ours. So in other words, a bit of a mixed bag all around. Much as we like to think everything that happens on the pitch is under the players (and the manager’s) control, there is a certain element of luck in the game of football. Today, the luck skewed in Everton’s favor one time too many for Spurs to withstand.
I think what I’m trying to say is that this result was crushing because it’s the end of our FA Cup run, but not crushing in the manner that, say, the defeats to Leicester or Liverpool or Chelsea were. It was a hard-fought match from each team, both with moments to be proud of and moments they would rather forget. If we had just completely rolled over after that third Everton goal and played the kind of desultory football we showed against Chelsea and Brighton, I would have been mad. But they did give it their best, especially the likes of Son, Kane, and Lamela. At least it was entertaining, albeit in a tearing-out-your-hair kind of way at times.
What do y’all think? Am I being too positive after a loss that took away one of our few remaining chances for a trophy this season? Or is there a general sense that Spurs are on an upswing, and could go on a great run of results if we could just get the defensive errors sorted out?
From one fire into another
Unfortunately, I don’t feel terribly confident that our next match is going to be the ideal bounce-back situation, simply because Man City are in lights-out form at the moment and we just played thirty extra minutes of football. And speaking of player mileage, it’s a tricky situation regarding Kane’s minutes for that match. He seems to be playing just fine after his recent ankle injuries, but do we risk letting him play the full 90 against City? Can we afford not to? This should be a prime opportunity for Vinícius to get some quality minutes, but I somehow doubt that Mourinho trusts him against City’s league-best defense. Not sure I do, either.
Just being realistic, the most I am going to actively hope for is a draw. The last time we played City, Mourinho’s low block/counterattack strategy worked perfectly against them. But they’ve improved across their whole lineup since then. Aguero is still out injured, but Sterling seems to be regaining his touch and Gundogan is suddenly scoring at will. Foden is also a serious goal threat, not to mention his playmaking potential. I don’t think it’s reaching to say that City have the best center back partnership in the league currently—Dias and Stones—both individually and in how they work together. And while we’ve seen major keeper errors from most of the top teams, Ederson has been solid and looks to be a shoo-in for Golden Glove this season.
I’ll have a better sense of how I’m feeling about the match once the lineup comes out, but all things considered I think it’s going to be one of our toughest matches yet this season. I just hope we show some fight and keep working on finessing the 4-2-3-1 lineup we’ve been working with the last two games (if that is indeed the formation Mourinho goes with). Then again, there’s something about this matchup that has favored Spurs in recent seasons, so you never know…
Odds and ends
Spurs Women’s match against Bristol City was postponed due to pitch conditions. Hopefully it is rescheduled at a time ~not~ overlapping with a Men’s game, as it would have been today. You’d think the schedule makers would take into account that fans of a club want to watch both of our teams, but alas.
Now that the Men’s team has been knocked out of the FA Cup (*pours one out*), we’ll finally be able to reschedule the match in hand against Aston Villa. I’m looking forward to this if only to have a clearer picture of where Spurs are at in the table—i.e. how much ground we still have to cover to get back into top 4. As it stands with the game still in hand, we’re four points off current fourth place holders Liverpool.
In other news, Gedson Fernandes scored today in his debut for his new loan team, Turkish club Galatasaray. They were also knocked out of their domestic cup despite his stoppage time goal. I’m still glad we moved him on because he just wasn’t a good fit for Spurs, but wish him the best in Turkey!
COYS