Micah Richards has highlighted a tactical ‘masterstroke’ from Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou that he believes led to their dominant 3-0 victory over Manchester United.
Bruno Fernandes was controversially sent off as a dismal United were swept aside at Old Trafford to heap further pressure on manager Erik ten Hag, who now faces a crucial week in the fight to keep his job with matches against Porto and Aston Villa upcoming.
Amid the rightful condemnation of Man Utd’s performance, the impressive nature of Spurs’ display has slightly got lost in the shuffle, with goals from Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke doing the damage to lift them to eighth in the Premier League table as a slow start of just four points from their first four games is being washed away.
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, pundit Richards was keen to give credit to Spurs and in particular manager Postecoglou’s decision to play Kulusevski in a hybrid No 8/No 10 role, allowing him to get forward and impact the game in the final third.
“Tactically, looking at it, Kulusevski we know he can play along the frontline – left, centre, right,” explained Richards. “But the fact he [Postecoglou] has gone with Johnson and [Timo] Werner on the wings, Solanke up front and sort of Kulusevski in that No 8 role where he pops into the No 10 role and switches with [James] Maddison – I just think it’s a masterstroke.
“A lot of managers there would have gone more defensive, with a [Pape] Sarr in that position alongside [Rodrigo] Bentancur and had Maddison in front. But he’s gone with Kulusevski, who we know can dribble very well, he can see a pass, he can shoot, he can score – all the good things.
“Those are the little bits that Ange needs a lot of credit for. Everyone talks about Spurs being kamikaze – they’re all or nothing. But he’s put players into a system where there’s energy.
“Werner had a couple of, I woudn’t say sitters, but for you guys, he should be putting them away. But the positons he’s getting into is what I look at it. If [Heung-min] Son is in that position, it’s probably two goals for him. I like that tactical tweak that he’s done.
“It allows the team to get really high, they press really high, win the ball back, dominate the ball. The timing of the passing was really good from Spurs – knowing when to quicken it up, knowing when to slow it down. I thought Spurs were brilliant and to have that performance at Old Trafford after a difficult start to the season, a manager sticking to his principles – brilliant win.”
Richard’s co-hosts Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker were equally effusive in their praise of Tottenham, with Lineker impressed by their attacking football and particularly highlighting the assist from Micky van de Ven for the first goal – as the centre back dribbled all the way from his own half to square the ball to Johnson for a tap-in.
“A slow start to the season, four points after four games but won last two,” said Lineker. “A thumping victory at Old Trafford is a great statement. They play front-foot football, they go high, they’re aggressive, they attack. I thought they were terrific. And Van de Ven’s run for the first goal – WOW! If it had been five or six [goals], you couldn’t have complained.”