It was a crazy weekend in the Premier League that saw Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool all lose their matches. However, Tottenham Hotspur, who beat Liverpool 2-1 to rise to the second place in the league table, will not be complaining at all. Ange Postecoglou’s team are now only a point adrift of Manchester City after seven round of matches.
It was a lop-sided encounter at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last Saturday after Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota were shown red cards to reduce Liverpool to nine men. However, the hosts still had to score twice to grind out a victory that catapulted them into the second place.
Son Heung-Min and James Maddison continued to impress
Son scored once again versus Liverpool, thus taking his tally in the current season to six. Then there was James Maddison, whose beautiful pass to an onrushing Richarlison paved the way for Tottenham’s opening goal.
While Son is the face of Tottenham after Harry Kane’s departure, Maddison can no longer be called underrated and is one of the most celebrated footballers in the Premier League at the moment.
His combination with Son has already troubled a number of big teams in the league and should be one of the most dreaded ones for the Spurs’ upcoming opponents. Maddison’s ability to drop back, along with the innate one of playing incisive passes, have been an asset for Postecoglou’s side, while Son remains one of the best finishers in the league.
Some underrated players coming to the fore
This season has seen a number of underrated players excel regularly for Tottenham. Dejan Kulusevski has been their primary creative outlet even keeping Son and Maddison in mind. The Swedish winger’s ability to cut in with his left foot and send in crosses has troubled Tottenham’s opponents on a regular basis.
Then there is the midfield duo of Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma, who have helped them weather an early storm against Liverpool after the Reds had started the match with great vigour and intensity. Sarr and Bissouma slowed the pace down by exchanging passes in the midfield and helped their side regain the momentum. While Sarr likes to venture forward at times, Bissouma is the one who sits back and lends solidity to the defence.
A couple of Tottenham’s defenders have also been top-notch. Micky van de Ven is one of the better young center backs in the league at the moment. He never shied away from one-to-one challenges against a fearsome Liverpool attack. He and Bissouma did a great deal to contain Mohamed Salah on Saturday.
There is also Pedro Porro, whose speedy overlaps have been a constant feature in Tottenham’s matches this season. As good as Kulusevski was, his inability to play crosses with his weaker right foot was affecting the Spurs as they were looking for a match winner. However, Porro finally played the right-footed cross that Joel Matip slammed into his own net while trying to clear the ball to ensure the Spurs’ victory.