A tough week for Tottenham, and the Special One, culminated in an important 0-2 victory away from home at fellow European hopefuls, and the Jack Grealish-less, Aston Villa.
A clean sheet and a maiden goal for Carlos Vinicius presented as a much-needed cause for celebration following Spurs’ exit from Europe and a lacklustre North London derby loss.
A second-leg capitulation against Dinamo Zagreb, who were still gathering themselves after losing their manager to… imprisonment, was not what the manager ordered.
The loss to Arsenal could potentially be attributed to a side still feeling the effects of a ‘missed opportunity’ mid-week against Zagreb. Nonetheless, this shouldn’t have been followed up with an impotent and unimaginative display against their neighbours who are, as a result of the loss, nipping at their heels in the Premier League standings. Five of Spurs’ shots came after the 70th minute, and they had only one before that; it’s this niche of football that has fans frustrated.
However, the display in the victory over Aston Villa was much-improved, even if their opponents were missing their own version of Harry Kane. Offensively, there was still much left to the imagination, but it was defensively where they impressed; after all, Mourinho’s Spurs foundation is built on a very functional defence. Again, Villa’s lack of Grealish has to be considered but Tottenham’s ability to close their hosts down and produce many last-ditch defensive efforts is the sort of spice that the squad has been missing over recent weeks.
Now Mourinho, his staff and players have two weeks, or at least all except the 13 players not going on international duty, to recuperate and rehabilitate any lingering niggles after a hectic month-and-a-half of football.
Some more favourable news for Mourinho will be that Son Heung Min has been released by South Korea to allow him to rehabilitate his hamstring.
In fact, Tottenham’s absentee list could be vanquished by the time matchweek 30 kicks off, as long as all 13 of the aforementioned internationals return unscathed. This is a far cry from the increasing capacity of the rehabilitation room last season, which truly inhibited their capability to end Mourinho’s first campaign in the European places.
This should set up Tottenham well for a significant last nine fixtures. Finishing in the top five remains their only path to Europe next season, after being evicted from the Europa League and FA Cup over the last two months.
Mourinho complained vehemently of the injury list last season. But a fully fit squad could potentially be the foundation on which Mourinho guides Tottenham back to the Champions League. There is much to look forward to, following the international break, for Spurs fans, and the potential for a feisty climax to the season in the fight for Europe.
