Tottenham Hotspur appear to be moving in title-winning tactical direction

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Tottenham Hotspur appear to be heading in a tactical direction very similar to the current champions. More than that, they’re doing it well.

Tottenham Hotspur appear to have their tactical setup in mind. It’s one that looks very similar to Liverpool’s, too – and that’s certainly a good thing.

Dominant teams tend to be dominant because they’ve found a way that works ‘for the times’. Jose Mourinho himself did that in the mid-2000s, with a rigid system that focused on stifling the opposition and winning games by small margins.

It worked so well that nearly every team in Europe followed suit. That led to Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona setting a new standard with possession football by the 2010s. Again, he was so dominant that nearly every team copied him.

And now Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool have changed the game again. High pressing, high tempo football built on a functional midfield and electric attack.

Naturally, then, teams are looking in that direction now.

Functional three

Liverpool use three hard-working midfielders to keep their team together. They cover the attacking full-backs and form a base for the forwards. There’s very little pressure on them to create or score – they’re there to control the midfield and let the more advanced players worry about the goals.

And that’s something we’re seeing with Tottenham over the last few games. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Moussa Sissoko and Tanguy Ndombele have taken their positions in midfield for the last three games.

Tellingly, the games since the disappointing 1-1 draw with Newcastle United. It’s worked fantastically well, too, thrashing Manchester United, beating Burnley, and really should have defeated West Ham United.

Attacking full-backs

Another principle of the Liverpool system is the attacking full-backs. And again, in recent games, we’ve seen Spurs improve in that regard. Both Serge Aurier and Sergio Reguilon have picked up their first assists of the season in the last three games.

Aurier even bagged himself against Manchester United.

And they can afford to get forward and affect the final third. That midfield has the energy and work-rate to cover their runs and keep things solid all game long.

Front trio

As we discussed yesterday, Mourinho appears to be going for an attack built almost entirely through his front-three. Again, as Liverpool do.

It’s the key part of the plan, in truth. Without that faith in a strong, formidable attack, it all falls apart. Spurs, however, are shaping up to have every part of the system available to them – as well as great players to make it work at the top.