The frustrations amongst many Spurs fans with the result last night were focused upon a couple of issues, José Mourinho’s tactics and the physical failings of some players.
As was drip-fed to you in numerous build-up pieces in this place, nobody playing last night for either side had kicked a ball in anger for 3 months. Harry Kane’s absence totalled some 6 months, and it was optimistic to believe players that had recovered from injury were going to achieve the same physicality as those that hadn’t.
Perhaps Mourinho’s negative tactics were designed to protect his players from fatigue? It certainly looked that way, As Kane was effectively at walking pace after an hour.
When looking at Tottenham’s most influential players, it reinforces my suspicion that Mourinho’s instructions were based upon what he’d seen on the green carpets of Hotspur Way, in recent weeks. I’d suggest the plan was to collectively defend and attack on the break.
So were Manchester United any fitter? That’s questionable, but they saw far more of the ball, which was a natural consequence of Spurs sitting deep. So their players were more influential.
Looking at Spurs’ attacking dashboard, I’ve circled in yellow where the good passes were and in turquoise where the bad passes began.
Looking at Man United’s attacking dashboard, Spurs largely kept them at bay, but the quality in the attack was superior, with more attempts made (12vs12) and twice as many on target (6vs3).
It is clear that José made a conscious decision for Tottenham to defend collectively, as opposed to trying to attack without a designated striker.
So were there no other options? I’d suggest not, given that there were genuine doubts about Lo Celso and NDombele couldn’t even make the bench. Gedson Fernandes (whom we might resist the urge to pile on, as he’s barely through the door) was the best spare attacking option, and he was pretty hopeless.
So scream and shout all you want, but on balance – and this game gave us much to weigh up – José did a great job.