Tottenham Hotspur tactics
Mauricio Pochettino made wholesale changes to his starting XI, as expected, but the Spurs boss retained his philosophy as he detailed his players to work the ball from the back, pin the opposition in their own half with patient build-ups before penetrating, mainly through the middle.
Spurs set up in their usual 4-2-3-1 formation with the central defenders – Kevin Wimmer and Toby Alderweireld – splitting to the edges of the 18-yard box to allow Tom Carroll to initiate attacks by dropping deep and collecting the ball.
Carroll was then tasked to push on into midfield to dictate play centrally, while Eric Dier remained as the main holding midfielder to protect the central defenders. Full-backs Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose pushed into the offensive half to add width to Tottenham’s attacks.
When Spurs had the ball in the offensive-third, Erik Lamela drifted infield from the left to affect the game behind Qarabag’s midfielders. Andros Townsend started as an inverted right winger, keeping the width down the flank and linking up with Trippier, before supplying in-swinging crosses into the box.
Up top, Dele Alli started in the number 10 position, where he helped central midfielders build attacks before making runs beyond centre forward Hueng-Min Son.
Son was the centre forward, but the South Korean worked virtually as a false nine, dropping into pockets of spaces in front of Qarabag’s defensive line where he received the ball to feet before taking shots from range.
As usual, Spurs adopted a high-pressing defensive approach, with Son and Alli leading the defending in the offensive half, while Lamela and Townsend supported that by engaging the visitors’ full-backs. Carroll double-pivoted with Dier in central midfield in order to protect the back-four.
Qarabag tactics
Qurban Qurbanov, the Qarabag manager, had obviously have done his homework and realised that Spurs like to penetrate mostly through the middle. He played his side in a compact 4-5-1 formation to pack the defensive-third with five men across midfield.
That meant the visitors allowed Spurs the space to work the ball from the back while Reynaldo Silva led the pressing as a lone striker in his own half.
In midfield, Afran Ismayilov and Cavid Tagiyev tracked back with Spurs’ full-backs as wide midfielders, while Richard Almeida and Dani Quintana pressed for possession from slightly advanced central midfield positions.
Qara Qarayev was the main defensive midfielder, policing the space in front of the central defenders. That central midfield triangle worked just in front of the central defenders in order to squeeze the space between the lines and force Spurs wide.
Qarabag’s back-four completed the defensive formation by aligning centrally across the penalty box to shut the channels in their deep defensive line.
When in possession, the Azerbaijanis attempted to hurt Tottenham by exploiting the gaps Spurs leave behind when attacking, with Ismayilov and Tagiyev working as natural wingers on the right and left wing respectively.
Those wingers had to spin in behind Spurs’ full-backs before supplying crosses into the box for Reynaldo. Quintana broke forward from central midfield to support the lone striker in attacking the service from the flanks.
Key tactical changes
Spurs led 2-1 at half-time, so Qarabag started pressing for the ball higher up the pitch and committing both full-backs beyond the halfway line to support attacks.
Still, Pochettino’s men had a firm grip on the game so Qarabag increased the pressure in the last 10 minutes by switching to a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Almeida pushing up to a central attacking midfield position.
Simon Armenteros came on as the main centre forward, so Reynaldo worked as a left attacking midfielder in that system where he made diagonal runs inside to affect Spurs’ defensive line as a second striker attacking crosses from the sides.
Spurs started defending a bit deeper to see the game out with a more compact defensive shape. Clinton N’Jie and Lamela completed the game as wide midfielders, converging centrally to support Harry Kane during counter-attacks.
Qarabag’s attacking changes helped them subject Spurs to a nervy ending with the visitors threatening to leave White Hart Lane with a point by creating a couple of half-chances. Their high pressing also nearly led to a goal in the 79th minute when Spurs were dispossessed in their defensive-third.
Fortunately for the Lilywhites, Lamela killed the game with four minutes to go by scoring the third goal.
