There are not many reasons for Tottenham Hotspur fans to get excited about the Premier League at the moment.
Monday night’s 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest was hardly a surprise. Spurs have lost five of their last seven top-flight games and are 16th. With difficult fixtures on the horizon against Liverpool, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, they could even drop below West Ham United and finish the season just above the relegation zone.
Any hope of Ange Postecoglou’s side building on the momentum of last week’s Europa League quarter-final victory over Eintracht Frankfurt vanished inside the first 20 minutes when Forest scored three times, although Chris Wood’s first effort was ruled out for offside.
Spurs started slowly, which has happened regularly throughout the season, but Postecoglou claimed that “our football was outstanding and we totally dominated the game”. They had 45 touches in their opponents’ box while Forest only had four — the lowest by a winning team in the Premier League since Crystal Palace beat Brighton & Hove Albion in February 2021.
Spurs adopted a slightly unusual approach against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, who have only conceded 39 goals, the third-best record behind Liverpool (31) and Arsenal (27). In Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic, Forest have two brutish, aerially dominant centre-backs, but that did not prevent Tottenham from launching crosses into the box. They attempted 51 crosses, more than any other team in the division in a single game this season. The last time Spurs attempted more than that figure (53) was against Bournemouth in October 2022 when Antonio Conte was still in charge.
It is no secret that Postecoglou’s philosophy is all about the wide forwards in a 4-3-3 system cutting the ball back towards the penalty spot for the opposite winger to attack. Brennan Johnson has thrived from pouncing on these opportunities and has scored 16 times in all competitions.
Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert, who started on the left and right wing respectively against Forest, drilled low crosses into the box on a couple of occasions but mainly floated the ball in the air for Richarlison to attack.
This was particularly noticeable with Tel in the first half. The France Under-21 international showed signs he is developing a good understanding with Djed Spence. Tel was released into space by Spence repeatedly and, even though he is predominantly right-footed, kept driving past Forest’s full-back Neco Williams on the outside and curling crosses into a pocket of space between the six-yard box and the penalty spot.
Tottenham’s best chance of the first half came via this tactic. Tel skilfully controlled the ball with the outside of his right boot and produced a left-footed cross that Richarlison headed wide. Pedro Porro created a good opportunity for Tel from the right wing in the 40th minute from a similar situation. Williams misjudged his header and the ball dropped for Tel, who blasted a left-footed shot into the stands.
Postecoglou clearly experimented with a different system against Forest, with Richarlison up front, and there was some promise. Dominic Solanke, Tottenham’s club-record signing, is multi-talented, capable of holding the ball up, dribbling at defenders or running into space to stretch the opposition. Richarlison, meanwhile, is more of a poacher, who can find it difficult to make an impact on the game outside the box.
The Brazilian has struggled with hamstring and calf injuries this season, but he has still scored four times in 11 appearances across 383 minutes in the league. Three of Richarlison’s goals have been headers and the fourth came via his right foot in a 3-2 defeat to his former club Everton in January when he aggressively attacked Mikey Moore’s curling cross towards the back post.
Forest changed their shape at half-time, with centre-back Morato replacing forward Anthony Elanga. Morato dropped into a back three with Murillo and Milenkovic, while Williams and Harry Toffolo became wing-backs, limiting the space for Tel and Odobert. That did not prevent Spurs full-back Porro from whipping more deliveries into the box. The Spain international combined with Richarlison in the 79th minute, but Matz Sels produced a fantastic save. They produced a similar move just under 10 minutes later and Richarlison scored.
Tel was Spurs’ best player in the first half, but his influence faded. Every time he beat Williams after the break, one of Forest’s centre-backs would come charging over.
Tel has scored twice in the league and played 80 minutes in last week’s quarter-final second leg against Frankfurt, but this felt like a step up from his previous performances. The forward, who turns 20 on Sunday, is overeager to shoot, but looked far more confident and in control. He can be guilty of trying too hard, but nearly everything he tried against Forest came off.
A slick backheel pass tricked his marker and put Spence in a threatening position. A couple of passes zipped through tight corridors of space. He set up chances for Odobert and Richarlison, while he stood firm to a few robust tackles. If he continues to perform at this level, Spurs should not hesitate to activate the option to turn his loan from German side Bayern Munich into a permanent deal for £45.7million ($61.2m).
Tottenham’s commitment to crossing against Forest might seem like a futile experiment in a game that saw them lose for the 18th time in the league. Postecoglou described it as “another unacceptable loss”, adding, “We are just making things really difficult for ourselves in key moments, giving away poor goals.”
In the wider context of their season, though, everything hinges on the Europa League.
Postecoglou rested James Maddison, while Solanke and Lucas Bergvall had brief cameos. Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero came off at half-time in pre-planned substitutions. Destiny Udogie did not even make the squad, but Tel, Richarlison, Odobert, Ben Davies and Kevin Danso all received valuable game time.
If Spurs want to lift silverware for the first time since 2008, they need a few alternative tricks. Launching a barrage of crosses into the box against a team who defend in a low block seemed strange, but they had enough success to suggest this could be a viable tactic if they desperately need it in the semi-final or even the final of the Europa League.
(Top photo: Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)