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What Tottenham could learn from Chelseas Plan A
As Tottenham huffed and puffed to no avail against Bournemouth last weekend, it became clear that Mauricio Pochettino is in need of a Plan B for when his narrow, short-passing 4-2-3-1 doesn’t work.
The Cherries pressed expertly in a compressed defensive shape at the Vitality Stadium, denying Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen the space they need in the final third and stifling Spurs in the process. Pochettino relies on his attacking full-backs to provide width and stretch the opposition lines of defence, but Bournemouth refused to budge and saw out a 0-0 draw fairly comfortably.
The Spurs manager knew that his attacking patterns were too predictable. Pochettino brought Moussa Sissoko off the bench with 20 minutes remaining and instructed him to remain extremely wide on the right, but the Argentine’s attempts to change the game proved fruitless.
Tottenham need a more dramatic Plan B, but they don’t need to look far to find it. Chelsea’s 3-4-2-1 formation tore Manchester United apart at Stamford Bridge last Sunday, and this formation – suddenly in vogue with both West Ham and Manchester City deploying it successfully this month – could work well as a backup plan for the north London club.
Two playmakers
It would be an understatement to say that defending isn't a strong point for either Eden Hazard or Pedro. Both players had difficult relationships with Jose Mourinho because of their unwillingness to track back and help out their team-mates in deeper areas, but Antonio Conte has found an excellent solution to this problem.
Chelsea’s setup in defence and midfield gives them enough numbers to allow both Pedro and Hazard to renege on their defensive work somewhat, and float up front with Diego Costa. What’s more, the width offered by wing-backs Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso means they can bunch together and occupy space on whichever flank is closest to the ball. It's similar to the effective partnership developing between Dmitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini at West Ham and what Pep Guardiola is hoping to achieve with Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva at Manchester City.
Dele Alli (1.4 tackles, 0.2 interceptions per match) and Christian Eriksen (1.4 tackles, 1.1 interceptions per match) could benefit from being utilised in a similar way in matches that Spurs dominate but struggle to make the breakthrough in. Spurs’ counter-pressing is usually the best route to goal against narrow, disciplined teams like Bournemouth, allowing Alli and Eriksen to constantly probe the half-spaces instead of dropping deeper could lead to considerably more chances being created.
Wing-backs more menacing
Although Spurs already expect Danny Rose and Kyle Walker to attack at every opportunity, switching to a 3-4-2-1 would allow Pochettino to inject a more direct threat on the flanks in order to work their way around a narrow and well-disciplined defensive system.
Moses has been converted into a wing-back by Conte for this very reason. As Pedro and Hazard occupy the opposition midfielders and suck them inwards, the Nigerian bursts towards the byline and takes on the full-back – indeed, he's attempted six take-ons and six crosses per 90 minutes this season.
Moussa Sissoko might be effective in a similar role, attacking the defence from a deeper starting position and thus becoming harder to track and nullify. He would have too many defensive responsibilities to cope as a full-back in a 4-2-3-1 system, but if Pochettino switched formation then there's no reason why the Frenchman couldn't adapt.
Free man to roam
Another prominent feature of Chelsea’s new formation is the space given to one of their central midfielders to dribble into the final third. Manchester United allowed N’Golo Kante to have as much of the ball as he wanted last weekend because they were so busy tracking Pedro, Hazard and Moses, while Conte allowed the France international to drift out of his base position because there was so much cover behind him.
Mousa Dembele would do serious damage if afforded a similar amount of space. His current defensive duties alongside Victor Wanyama mean he can't suddenly make a charge towards the penalty box, but he would be freed up to do so if Spurs were to copy Chelsea’s template.
Tottenham’s 4-2-3-1 is superbly organised and, for the most part, will serve them well in their title push this campaign. But the frustrating 0-0 draw with Bournemouth suggests that Pochettino needs an alternative approach, and while a formation change might seem like a drastic option, Spurs should be intelligent enough to shape-shift mid-match.
If Pochettino doesn’t come up with an alternative for this Saturday’s game against Leicester, Spurs could be in for another frustrating afternoon.
