Since Ange Postecoglou took charge, the change of tactical scenery for Tottenham Hotspur fans has been hugely refreshing.
A proactive approach on the ball has been easier on the eye — a contrast to last season’s rigid attacking football under Antonio Conte. That’s also been the case off the ball.
Spurs’ high offside line looks risky, but it has been of great benefit this season. Improved counter-pressing has helped Tottenham defend against transitions while allowing them to break into the other direction, and the high press has made them tougher to play through.
When Spurs can’t break down an opponent, it’s their improved out-of-possession phase that helps them stay in the game. That was the case in Sunday’s 4-0 victory against Aston Villa, when Unai Emery’s 5-3-2 complicated things for Tottenham’s attack.
In the first half, Villa had the better chances, but they were mainly from set pieces or on the counter. In possession, Tottenham’s pressing stifled them and gave Postecoglou’s side control of the ball.
Against Villa’s back five, Tottenham’s front three pressed narrowly with Son Heung-min leading the charge. Behind them, James Maddison, Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr (out of shot) man-marked Douglas Luiz, John McGinn and Youri Tielemans.
The idea was to split Villa’s build-up and force them down one side, where the player on the ball has no passing options and can’t pass it back to reset the attack. Starting the press, Son wouldn’t run directly towards Emiliano Martinez, but first move vertically…
… before bending his run to block the passing lane into Clement Lenglet and force Martinez to play to the other side. The narrow positioning of Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson positions them closer to Villa’s wide centre-backs…
… and this allows the Wales forward to press Ezri Konsa whose options on the ball are limited: Son is blocking the back pass to Martinez, while Bissouma and Maddison are marking McGinn and Douglas Luiz near the edge of the penalty box.
Konsa’s only viable option is to play the ball to Matty Cash, who is free because Destiny Udogie is late. Here, Villa’s right centre-back finds Cash, but Johnson’s pressure stops the attack after he fouls the right wing-back.
From the reset, it’s the same pressing situation: Maddison and Bissouma are marking Douglas Luiz and McGinn in midfield, Johnson and Kulusevski are in narrow positions to press Villa’s wide centre-backs at the right time, and Son is bending his run towards the ball to block the passing lane into Lenglet while pressing Martinez.
Son’s pressing angle forces Martinez to play the ball to Konsa, which is the trigger for Johnson to move towards Konsa…
… who once again has limited passing options: Son’s positioning is blocking the backpass to Martinez, Bissouma and Maddison are marking McGinn and Douglas Luiz and, this time, Udogie is ready to press Cash. Konsa tries to curl the ball into the right wing-back, but it falls closer to Udogie, who regains possession for Tottenham.
Against this Villa side, an aggressive press is risky because of Ollie Watkins’ pace and ability to attack the space after collecting a long pass. However, the profiles of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven mean that Tottenham could match Watkins and Leon Bailey’s speed in a two-versus-two scenario.
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This factors into the pressing, as it allows Postecoglou to use Pedro Porro and Udogie to press Villa’s wing-backs, which means that Tottenham’s front three can focus on Villa’s centre-backs.
In this example, Tottenham’s players are in their pressing positions and Son starts his movement vertically again…
… before once again bending his run to press Villa’s goalkeeper while blocking the passing lane to Lenglet. Meanwhile, Johnson is ready to press Konsa if Martinez plays the ball into him…
… and Maddison and Bissouma are marking Douglas Luiz and McGinn, forcing Martinez to play a long ball…
… which is easily headed away by Van de Ven.
In another example, Martinez’s central passing options are marked and Son moves towards Lenglet before arcing his run to press the Villa goalkeeper while blocking the pass into the centre-back…
With Johnson in position to press Konsa, and Maddison and Bissouma tightly marking Douglas Luiz and McGinn, Martinez goes long…
… but Romero intercepts the ball and plays it quickly to Son, who fails to find Johnson’s run behind the defence.
Tottenham’s pressing didn’t just stop Villa’s threat in the possession phase, it also created transitional situations that Spurs should have used better. Here, Tottenham start the press with Johnson, Kulusevski and Son moving towards Villa’s centre-backs.
Under pressure — and with his nearest passing options being pressed by Kuluseveski and Sarr — Lenglet goes all the way back to his goalkeeper…
… and again, Son arcs his movement when pressing Martinez to block the pass to Lenglet, while Johnson moves closer to Konsa.
Son’s pressing angle forces Martinez to play the pass to Konsa, which is the trigger for Johnson to push forward…
… and press the right centre-back who can’t play the ball back to his goalkeeper because of the positioning of Son. Konsa tries to find McGinn, but Bissouma is marking him and Tottenham regain possession high up the field.
From this regain and the following one, Postecoglou’s side failed to strike on the transition, but when they did, it led to their second goal. After opening the scoring through Maddison, Tottenham’s intensity didn’t drop and their pressing paid dividends.
In the build-up to Johnson’s goal, the Wales forward presses Konsa as Kuluseveski moves closer to Pau Torres and Son adjusts his positioning to block the passing lane into Lenglet.
Behind them, Bissouma, Maddison and Sarr are marking McGinn, Douglas Luiz and Tielemans, which limits Konsa’s passing options. Under pressure from Johnson and unable to play the pass to Lenglet (out of shot) or Torres because of the positioning of Son and Kuluseveski, Konsa dribbles inside the pitch…
… and Johnson follows him, while Son adjusts his position to block the backpass to Martinez or Lenglet. This leaves Konsa with only two options in Tielemans and Torres (out of shot), who have Sarr and Kulusevski ready to press them. Konsa’s pass doesn’t find either, and Kulusevski intercepts the ball…
… to start the transition that ends with Johnson scoring to make it 2-0.
McGinn’s red card 12 minutes later made things easier for Spurs, who added two more goals towards the end of the game — but it was their pressing that limited Villa’s threat in possession and allowed them control of the ball when the match was even.
Tottenham’s proactive approach on and off the ball isn’t only easy on the eye, it’s effective too.