Tottenham Hotspur return to Champions League action this evening as they welcome Bundesliga side RB Leipzig to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the first leg of the last 16. However, on the eve of this critical fixture Spurs suffered a crushing blow, with manager Jose Mourinho revealing they will be without forward Son-Heung Min, probably for the remainder of the season due to a fractured arm. With no recognised striker available due to Harry Kane’s hamstring injury Tottenham must reminisce on Mourinho’s former methods to see off their German opponents.
During the group stage of the competition at least 2.5 goals were scored in every game Tottenham played, as they were the entertainers of the opening round. Additionally, no side conceded more goals than Tottenham’s 14 and progressed to the knockout stages of the competition. Even the notoriously gung-ho Atalanta, who lost their opening three games, limited the opposition to 12 goals.
Without their two top scorers this season, Tottenham’s all-out attacking methods simply will not generate results, so they will have to evoke the Mourinho of old who famously overcame Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona with ten men en route to winning the tournament with Inter Milan. Via WhoScored, though so far during his tenure Mourinho’s side have conceded at least two goals in seven of his 20 games in charge.
Switching to a back five could be the ideal way to shut up shop against Leipzig, especially considering the Portuguese managers’ options in forward areas are limited. Spurs can attempt to sit deep and soak up opposition pressure by building a five-man wall in front of Hugo Lloris. At the same time, Lucas Moura, Steven Bergwijn and Serge Aurier are capable of executing rapid transition to expose their opposition on the break.
Staying resolute defensively is essential considering Timo Werner is destroying defences this season, via WhoScored, scoring 25 goals, along with providing seven assists, across 31 games for Leipzig this term. The only man to have scored more Bundesliga goals than the German this season is Robert Lewandowski, 23. Spurs did not fare so well when they met his Bayern Munich side in the group stage, with the Pole scoring twice as the Bavarians ran out 7-2 winners, Mourinho must avoid repeating that catastrophic display which occurred under his predecessor.
