Tottenham Hotspur certainly suffered no Carabao Cup hangover in the Burnley sunshine today as the much-changed Ange Postecoglou XI recorded a 5-2 victory.
Let’s take a look at the five things we learned:
Changing the team
Ange Postecoglou changed the team back to what is likely his first-choice, and Spurs purred more than ever before this season. Despite going behind early and finding themselves in a 1-1 battle for a long time, Spurs eventually ran away with the game, scoring five in the process. I know Postecoglou wanted to take a look at some of his squad players, but it does make you wonder what could have been achieved by changing just half the team, rather than 9 players.
Heung-min Son number 9
Heung-min Son took over as the number 9 today when Richarlison was benched, and boy, did he perform well! For a significant portion of the game, he was relatively quiet and didn’t see much of the ball, but once Spurs entered the final third, he came to life. Additionally, he appeared to relish being the defensive unit’s shoulder far more than Richarlison has in previous weeks. Postecoglou is now faced with a difficult decision: who will be his preferred striker going forward?
Tottenham are fun, Tottenham are chaos
No matter what happens this year, Tottenham will be the most fascinating team to watch. Yes, there is something to be said about Man City’s hegemony or Brighton’s tenacious energy, but Spurs are providing excitement on both ends. Full-scale attack and feigned defense. What is there to dislike? After all, isn’t that why we’re here—to be entertained?
Goal from all over the pitch
Postecoglou seemed to have excelled at something that Antonio Conte struggled with: scoring goals all across the field. Tottenham also has goals from Maddison, Emerson Royal, Romero, Pape Matar Sarr, and Ben Davies (sort of), who are all now unbeaten this season. Sonny, Kulusevski, and Richarlison are all now all off the mark. It has been Harry Kane’s responsibility to score the goals and win the games for so long, but once that responsibility is shared, it must be much more difficult to play against.
Up to second in the table
Postecoglou won’t like to look at the table so early, and even fans shouldn’t really, but 10 points from 12, including Brentford away and a game against Man United. Sitting second in the Premier League is fun, whatever point of the season it may be. However, it should also be a warning sign. We all know that Mourinho and Conte both also enjoyed positive starts to seasons, as did Nuno Espirito Santo, so there is a lot more work to be done for Postecoglou and his side.
