Wow, oh wow.
What a performance. Bravery, skill, desire, togetherness. All showcased in a 90-minute display against the best first 11 in the Premier League and our best win since the 3-1 at The Etihad last season.
The Opening
It started well. Our 3-5-2 seemed to unsettle Tottenham in the early stages, Luiz and Kante looked good, pressing and winning the ball back and Bakayoko played better than Matic ever would in this position, without a pre season and making his debut! Moses ran well. Azpi was solid as ever and Rudiger looked good again. Christensen struggled a bit but would grow into the game.
We had the first major opportunity, Morata latching onto an Azpi cross, 8 yards out. He was free as a bird but managed to spurn his header wide of the target. I wasn’t overly worried. His hold up play was still superior to both Costa’s and Batshuayi’s. The chances will continue to come.
Then the goal. David Luiz turned Alli outside the box and Alli impetuously stuck out his back leg to trip the Brazilian. Alonso stepped up and unleashed a beauty into the top corner, reminiscent of the Bournemouth goal last season. I may not be his biggest fan, and there are definitely upgrades available but Alonso’s delivery is second to none. A goal our goo start merited.
Backs To The Wall
This seems to spur (!) Tottenham into life. They came firing back with Harry Kane leading the charge. An Eriksen free kick missed everyone and Alli crashed a shtick over. Kane himself smashed the post and it was all hands to the pump. Dembele was excellent as Tottenham grew into the game, he himself going close with a long-range effort which Courtois helped over. We needed half time and just about managed to make it there, lead intact.
The second started in the same way the first ended, with Tottenham pressing and winning the ball before driving us back. Luiz was excellent as Spurs grew, constantly thwarting with well-timed tackles and blocks. Kante was as understated as ever whilst Bakayoko showed excellent control if not decision making. Azpi was fantastic as the last line of defence, making important clearances to thwart Kane and Eriksen whilst both Rudiger and Christensen stood up well to the Tottenham onslaught.
A Topsy Turvy Last Ten
Going into the last ten it looked as if it could go either way. Tottenham were tiring on the big pitch and Willian went close with a drive from the edge of the area, levelling up the post count. Morata also missed a decent opportunity, his shot blocked by Alderweireld after twisting and turning past the Belgian. We looked fairly comfortable before giving away a silly free kick just inside the last ten.
Eriksen has possibly the best, most consistent delivery in the premier league. Fortunately, we had a blue wall in the way. Unfortunately, one of the blue wall conspired to smash the header into his own net. I’m not entirely sure what Batshuayi was aiming to do, couple this with his dire performance last week and he is in danger of becoming as peripheral as he was last season. People are already tagging him more twitter merchant than pro footballer.
Tottenham were level and baying for blood. We responded well and it looked set to go down to the wire. Then came Luiz. Again. He showed great hunger and desire to outwit Wanyama inside the Tottenham half before releasing Alonso, he played it wide to Pedro who did what Willian never would and played an inch perfect pass to release Alonso in the inside left position. Alonso took a look at Lloris and smashed the ball bemeath the Frenchman. 2-1. Crisis? What crisis?
Aftermath
Let this performance not detract from the fact we still need players. We need a right wing back and a central midfielder as well as at least one more striker. The board should not take this as a sign we don’t need any reinforcements, the bench was not good enough.
Hopwfully Christensen’s performance level stays the same and he is rewarded with keeping Cahill out of the team. Bakayoko will only improve as his fitness catches up and the return of Pedro was lovely. Add in Morata and a returning Hazard to come and we should be rolling my. Amazing what a difference a week makes.
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