TOTTENHAM TURMOIL
Shrinking Spurs lack any leaders
Mauricio Pochettino erupted. not as the dazzling James Maddison twirled away after scorching Leicester’s winner — there was an inevitability about that after what had preceded it — but just 11 minutes into this absorbing afternoon. chances to seize quick territorial advantage are uncommon for visitors to the King Power Stadium and so it felt significant when tottenham turned their hosts around in midfield with one erik Lamela header.
Possession sharply made its way to harry Kane, with numbers in his favour, but the striker’s reactions were too leisurely.
Caglar Soyuncu mopped up, Pochettino hopped. the moment passed.
Pochettino’s side had just about got away with it at that stage. Maddison twice almost punished them in the first half and Wilfred ndidi saw a scrappy goal correctly ruled out by Var.
teams cannot squander opportunities at Leicester. tottenham did. teams cannot wilt at Leicester. tottenham did.
they shrunk in the final 20 minutes. in mitigation, they would have been 2-0 up had Serge aurier’s strike not been ruled out by Var for the most marginal of offsides. the technicalities of Var are still being debated — but Spurs shrunk nevertheless.
Somebody needed to take control of the situation yet leaders are lacking.
Spurs were still a goal up but once referee Paul tierney signalled Var had overturned aurier’s effort, the pendulum was only swinging one way. the emotional impact of that decision did for them.
‘these type of situations demand a type of character to be brave to work hard and to try to face the problems,’ said Pochettino (below).
‘it is my sixth season at tottenham, we have had ups and downs. that is the moment to have a good balance, keep working and analysing how we are going to work to try to perform.’
While Spurs did contain Leicester for spells, their frailties are all too clear. Playing well for 90 minutes is proving impossible.
their last away Premier League win came at Fulham on January 20.
they now have two points from their last nine away league fixtures, their worst run since 2006. this was the third consecutive away game in which tottenham have blown a lead, after arsenal and olympiacos.
‘it’s something to look at, definitely,’ Jan Vertonghen said. ‘apart from olympiacos we’ve done well in these games. But it is making it even harder.
‘if you’re 1-0 and the way we were playing — we felt good, we were dominating — then maybe you should put the game in the bag. We need to keep clean sheets.’
Spurs have kept one clean sheet since april 23. With goalkeeper hugo Lloris absent to attend the birth of his child, another never really looked likely here, even when they had something to hold.
Kane was far more alert just before the half-hour and his finish was a thing of beauty.
Stumbling after Soyuncu had fouled him, Kane continued forward, falling to the turf and somehow managing to hit a perfect ‘bounce’ finish over the onrushing keeper Kasper Schmeichel. Leicester responded superbly and their perseverance indicates they are ready to push into the top six and perhaps even higher. ‘it is important we play an aggressive game,’ said boss Brendan rodgers. ‘our aggression was good in this game, everyone was synchronised in that and if you’re not, against real top-level players, you will suffer.’ What may work in Leicester’s favour is the lack of european distractions. While Spurs toiled in athens, rodgers was preparing for this match. ‘it does help you instill your methods because you have the days to work,’ he added. ‘it was a really good week’s training emphasising what our strengths are. When we play to those strengths we are competitive against any team. ‘the beauty of this group is that they are hungry players that really want to learn and develop. When they step over the line, it is important they play without any fear.’ that they did, summed up by Maddison, whose demanding of the ball and penchant to amaze offers Leicester a different dimension. the winner, after ricardo Pereira’s equaliser, was stunning, angled into Paulo Gazzaniga’s right-hand corner. ‘Leicester should be seen as a top team because we’ve got top players and a top manager,’ said Maddison. ‘there’s no reason why we can’t beat these teams.’ there is also no reason why any team with ambition can’t beat tottenham at home right now.
LEICESTER (4-3-3): Schmeichel 6.5; Pereira 7, Soyuncu 7.5, Evans 7, Chilwell 6.5; MADDISON 8, Ndidi 7.5, Tielemans 7.5 (Choudhury 84min); Barnes 6 (Gray 83) Vardy 7, Perez 6 (Praet 67, 6). Subs not used: Justin, Morgan, Albrighton, Ward. Scorers: Pereira 69, Maddison 85. Booked: Gray. Manager: Brendan Rodgers 7. TOTTENHAM (4-4-2): Gazzaniga 6.5; Aurier 7, Alderweireld 6, Vertonghen 6.5, Rose 6.5; Winks 6.5; Ndombele 6 (Moura 86), Sissoko 6.5 (Wanyama 67, 6), Lamela 6 (Eriksen 79); Son 7, Kane 7. Subs not used: Dier, Skipp, Davies, Whiteman. Scorer: Kane 29. Booked: Sissoko, Wanyama. Manager: Mauricio Pochettino 6. Referee: Paul Tierney 6. Attendance: 32,129.