Olympique Marseille – Tottenham Hotspur: From Passive To Proactive (1-2)

Spurs defended deep in the first half and Marseille were able to establish dominance, combining in wide areas and forcing Spurs’ defense to work. The home side eventually went ahead, prompting a change in mentality for Spurs, from passive to proactive. This benefitted Spurs, and they were able to make a second half comeback to secure their place in the Champions League knockout stage.
Tactical analysis and match report by Josh Manley.

Champions League’s Group D was the most open of the groups going into the final matchday, as all four teams were within two points of each other. Each team had their fate in their own hands, knowing that a win would guarantee knockout round qualification.

Marseille were bottom of the group coming into this match. The last few weeks had generally not been ideal for the French side, winning only two of their seven games in October. This was added to by rumours in the media of unhappy players under the leadership of Igor Tudor.

The home side started with a 3-4-3 shape here, with a back three of Chancel Mbemba, Eric Bailly, and Leonardo Balerdi. Jonathan Clauss and Nuno Tavares were the wing-backs, while Valentin Rongier and Jordan Veretout were the central midfielders. Matteo Guendouzi and Amine Harit then supported Alexis Sánchez up front.

Spurs were top of the group prior to this match and knew that a draw would be enough to see them through. Antonio Conte’s side have had their own difficulties in the last couple of weeks though, being beaten at home by Newcastle before putting in a

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