Tottenham earned a goalless draw against Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.
The Lilywhites had gone into the game needing to match Liverpool’s result if they wanted to return to the top of the Premier League table.
But they were facing an in-form Chelsea team that is on a fine run of form, and one that they eliminated from the Carabao Cup earlier in the season.
The game was a close affair with both teams cancelling out each other for much of the time.
Jose Mourinho set up his team to nullify Chelsea’s attacking threat while allowing his full-backs to also attack the Blues without worrying about being caught out.
This tactic has been slammed because it meant that Mourinho “parked the bus” in his defence.
However, former Southampton defender Danny Higginbotham has defended the tactics employed by the Special One and claimed that it is a brilliant one that worked, and not what it has been called.
He wrote on SunSport: “You looked at Tottenham and it was like a back six on occasions but it was very organised – even if some did accuse Jose of ‘parking the bus’.
“There seemed to be four centre-backs at times — Dier, Rodon, Sissoko and Hojbjerg — allowing the full-backs to push wider.
“But I don’t agree Mourinho was just parking the bus.
“Only Liverpool and Chelsea have scored more than Spurs — 22 compared to 21 — but they have got the best defence in the league, with just nine conceded. And, of course, Tottenham are top.
“It is getting that balance right and Mourinho has done that.”
Tell dem breda
The problem with stats this early is they don’t mean an awful lot – they had one on Sky on Sunday during the match saying “oh look, Spurs let in a lot of late goals this season, look out for that this game”…three came in the one game. How is that a pattern? Have the team not changed approach at all since?
So it is ok being smug and saying “we score loads, we don’t let in many” but the scoring loads and not letting in many haven’t happened in the same matches yet too often – so that stat is a little misleading too.
Kane needs to bang one in soon, is he waiting for his 250th career goal? Something like that. Bang one in Kane.
BRAVO!
Parking the bus whilst scoring the most in the league! 😆 Maureens system is extremely flexible, he switches from mid to low block and high press… For any casual who doesn’t understand ‘park the bus’ then this means all 11 men in their own half, as many behind the ball as possible, literally surviving. There is no incentive to attack, everyone defends and shuts up shop.. Basement boys and relegation battlers have often reverted to this, not top of the league.