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Date of publication: Wednesday 28 November 2018 11:02
"We play every three days until the month of January and if we do not shoot, we will have problems," warned Mauricio Pochettino before a match that could have been a victory but which stopped just before the must-play The best team, sandwiched between the clashes with Chelsea and Arsenal. The priority was clear: the matches that would establish Tottenham in an ultra competitive race for the Champions League places were more important than those of a Champions League campaign that had already undergone several aspects of self-destruction.
Pochettino played – and was clearly right to do so – convinced that Inter needed only a 0-0 draw to allow the Italians to play cautiously. Tottenham dominated the first half, but eight of his 11 attempts were off-court and Harry Winks' carpenter-carpenter was the only one to contain a real venom.
Everything was a little too pedestrian – too many attacks stopped just outside the penalty area with a lazy sweep of the ball rather than any dynamism or cunning. But Pochettino knew that he had these two missing features on the bench and that this time there was no traditional reluctance to use his substitutes. That was always the plan – let Son Heung-Min and Christian Eriksen rest, but then use them against a team from Inter, persuaded that they had control of the match and their fate.
It was almost laughable to immediately see how Son and Eriksen had an impact. The South Korean had barely touched the ball before his entry into the penalty box hurt Inter players who were thrilled to sneak and block. Then, after his presentation in the 69th minute, Eriksen first hit a free kick that should have kicked in Jan Vertonghen. Their introduction turned the match into a 20-minute badault.
In the end, the goal came with an emphatic finish of the Dane, although it was the name of Moussa Sissoko that was sung by an enthusiastic crowd of Wembley. His course was a little closer to the surface than we had seen in the first three quarters of the game and was perfectly complemented by a skillful turn that allowed Dele Alli to take the lead of Eriksen. It was a goal as wonderful as perfectly timed. Pochettino's plan was executed to perfection. being able to rest and stay in the Champions League is surely the most sacred of the Grails.
Chances are still there against Tottenham for this last game against Barcelona, but this particular challenge lies between the clashes with Leicester and Burnley; there will be nothing or nobody saved for the Clarets. They will always play every three days, but there will be more weeks when every game is against an opponent of this magnitude. Exiting two games against Chelsea and Inter Milan with six points – and pushing only five field players to play in 180 minutes – is a remarkable management.
Tottenham are alive. And largely well. The only question is whether Pochettino can ever afford to rest Sissoko again.
Sarah Winterburn
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