Tottenham – Manchester United: Ange Postecoglou’s Salvation (1-0)

Ange Postecoglou bound words with deeds, winning silverware in his second season with Tottenham and ending Spurs’ seventeen-year trophy drought. Tottenham’s salvation secured a ticket to the next UEFA Champions League and guaranteed a season without continental participation for Manchester United.

Tactical analysis and match report by Achraf Lamdarhri.

We decided to make this article free to read. If you want to support our work, consider taking a subscription.

The Europa League final, at San Mames, is a battle of “to be or not to be, to rise from the ashes or to fade away” between the sixteenth and seventeenth in the Premier League. It is between Manchester United, Ruben Amorim, and Tottenham, Ange Postecoglou. This is an unprecedented saga wherein both teams fight for their future existence.

Both sides drowned and melted down in the domestic league. Neither did they rescue their teams from sinking into the depths of despair. Nevertheless, Amorim and Postecoglou gifted the Red Devils and Spurs a kiss of fate: the Europa League. It is not a typical English feud, but it is a football story in which scars and wounds blend with hope.

Everyone looks at the final as a golden ticket to the Champions League. A game that may offer Manchester United a new beginning and Ruben Amorim the confidence and respite to build his project and put the club back to where it belongs. Not only that, but it may be a moment wherein the Portuguese manager may lift his first trophy among many to come with Manchester United.

For Tottenham, it is an opportunity to end a drought period without major silverware since 2008. For Ange Postecoglou, it is a game that may ingrain his renowned quote about him usually winning a trophy in his second season. However, his future will remain uncertain with Tottenham, even if he manages to bring back glory.

Injuries hindered Tottenham over the season, and James Maddison was the main absentee. Guglielmo Vicario started in goal. Ahead, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven formed a defensive partnership, with Pedro Porro on the right and Destiny Udogie on the left. Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma slotted in the pivot. Richarlison and Brennan Johnson flanked the striker Dominic Solanke, who operated in front of Pape Sarr.

For Manchester United, Leny Yoro returned from injury to feature in a backline of three alongside Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw. Bruno Fernandes partnered with Casemiro in the pivot. Noussair Mazraoui and Patrick Dorgu acted as wingbacks. In the attack, Amad Diallo and Mason Mount were the attacking midfielders, with Rasmus Højlund ahead of them.

Spurs out of possession

Tottenham adopted an unusual approach against Manchester United, as Ange Postecoglou took a step away from his principles. Out of possession, Spurs lined up in a 4-2-3-1 shape. High up the pitch, Tottenham’s front three jumped on Manchester United’s back three. The trio in midfield ran onto Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, and Mason Mount. Udogie assumed the responsibility to keep tabs on Amad Diallo, and Pedro Porro pounced on Dorgu, with the center-backs remaining central and shutting down Rasmus Højlund.

Usually, United’s wingbacks pushed on, hugging the touchlines. On the left, Patrick Dorgu tended to drop off, luring Pedro Porro to follow him upward. The telos was to vacate the space behind Tottenham’s right back for Mason Mount to dart into. However, Bissouma or Bentancur tracked Mount’s wide movements aggressively.

When pressing high, Spurs intended to set wide traps on Manchester United’s left side, with Richarlison narrowing inside to lock the ball side. However, when the Red Devils managed to get away from pressure, Noussair Mazraoui was the free man down the right-inside channel. The Moroccan drifted infield, leaving the wide channel for Amad Diallo to be isolated against Udogie.

Tottenham stuck to a 4-2-3-1 formation, defending in a low-block fashion. Spurs’ double pivots man-marked Mason Mount and Mazraoui down the inside channels. On the left, despite Bentancur keeping tabs on Mount, Pedro Porro was alert, controlling the latter and Patrick Dorgu at the same time. As a result, United’s left wingback seized the opportunity to sneak behind Porro and receive long passes behind Tottenham’s defensive line.

Manchester United setup

In possession, Postecoglou’s team constructed the attacks in a 4-3-3 shape in which the fullbacks remained deep and Pape Sarr dropped off to overload Manchester United in the first phase, who pressed with six men up top. Patrick Dorgu pushed up to engage with Sarr or to jump on Pedro Porro and force him to play longer. Tottenham looked to counterpress United and generate turnovers.

Bruno Fernandes tended to surge forward. As a result, Casemiro was left vulnerable and was obligated to cover large spaces between the lines. Not only that, but Solanke joined Pape Sarr when he came short and generated numerical superiority. So, Casemiro was overloaded in the middle of the park, and Spurs were able to work the ball out and progress down the thirds.

18th minute: Bruno Fernandes runs onto Bissouma, leaving Casemiro alone on a large island to cover. Richarlison pins Mazraoui wide; thus, Solanke drops off, offering himself as a free passing option. The latter picks out Richarlison and attacks the box, with Udogie firing forward. Richarlison, with an inswinging cross, finds Sarr’s late run.

Mazraoui and Diallo swapped positions on the right side. The pair created a wide overload over Udogie and permitted Maguire to dink balls over the top to one of them. However, Richarlison shifted back to neutralize Manchester United’s play on the right.

To avoid a two-versus-one scenario and prevent Leny Yoro from carrying the ball forward, Richarlison cut off the passing lane between the former and Mazraoui, who was wide. As a consequence, Yoro accessed the Moroccan wingback via Diallo, exploiting the free vertical corridor to slide the pass to Diallo, then pick out Mazraoui. From there, Tottenham were forced to retreat, and Richarlison worked his way back to provide wide support.

In deep buildup, Maguire stepped up to join Casemiro. Spurs adopted a man-oriented approach to shut down United’s midfield. Not only did Maguire’s movement generate numerical advantage, but the Red Devils also had free passing options for Onana to pick out. However, the latter was reluctant to play longer and find Højlund.

Forty-second minutes into the first half, Pape Sarr, Bentancur, and Richarlison took advantage of Manchester United’s subpar coverage of the left wide and inside channels to whip a cross into the box. Brennan Johnson came from Luke Shaw’s blind side, disturbing him and driving him to guide the ball home.

Attack versus defense

In the second half, Tottenham opted for ceding possession and relentlessly defending their one-goal advantage. Postecoglou’s team remained faithful to the 4-2-3-1 formation, sitting in a low block. That allowed them good coverage of the wide and inside corridors. In other words, on Spurs’ left side, Van de Ven, Bissouma, and Udogie worked in tandem to ward off Manchester United’s wide combination.

To elaborate, when Udogie jumped on the Red Devils’ wide player, Bissouma assumed the responsibility for covering the inverted option, whereas Van De Ven maintained a central position. In case the latter shifted across to sweep behind Udogie, Bissouma dropped back to fill Van de Ven’s vacated spot.

Nonetheless, Bruno Fernandes was a disturbance to Spurs’ defensive integrity on the right side. Not only did Bissouma engage with Bruno, but Richarlison’s attention was drawn toward the Portuguese when he joined the crew. As a consequence, Amad Diallo and Mazraoui outnumbered Udogie and were able to thread passes and whip crosses into Højlund.

62nd minute: Manchester United’s left wide combination. Luke Shaw carries the ball forward, forcing Bentacur to jump on. Pedro Porro leaves Mason Mount and pounces on Patrick Dorgu. A ball combination between the former and the latter ships the ball to Amad Diallo. Udogie tracks his man and closes him down.

Manchester United came close to tying the score when Vicario came out to catch Bruno’s free kick. However, the Italian goalkeeper shook, giving the ball away to Højlund, who headed it, and Van de Ven came to the rescue, clearing it away from the line.

Both managers made changes. Heung-min Son replaced Richarlison. Joshua Zirzkee and Alejandro Garnacho came on for Rasmus Højlund and Mason Mount. Zirkzee instantly impacted his team’s play as he came short, dragging Romero with him and vacating the space for runners behind. Zirkzee’s mission was to link the play via his layoff to access Mazraoui on the right inside channel. United’s right wingback played the ball across to Bruno, who exploited the space behind Spurs’ backline. Nevertheless, he squandered a goal-scoring opportunity.

On the left side, Garnacho hugged the touchlines, with Dorgu narrowing inside. The pair switched positions, with the former coming from the touchlines to cut inside, whilst the latter overlapping him to distract Pedro Porro and allow his teammate space to continue inside and fire shots.

Ange Postecoglou was determined to lock the defense and close all the avenues. Thus, Brennan Johnson made way for Kevin Danso. That saw Tottenham sit in a 5-4-1 low block in which Danso took charge of the inverted Dorgu, and Pape Sarr kept his eye on Luke Shaw when he pushed up on one hand. On the other hand, he supported Pedro Porro doubling up on Garnacho. On the right side, Son Heung-min was on a mission to track Mazraoui’s deep runs to prevent him from linking with Amad Diallo and pulling balls back to players coming from behind.

Postecoglou’s substitutions served Tottenham’s defense well. Spurs neutralized Manchester United’s crosses, especially those delivered from Diogo Dalot, who came in late. In addition, Vicario rose to the occasion, wiping away Shaw’s header and leading Spurs to glory.

Takeaways

After being criticized for his heavy, energy-consuming, fast-paced approach, Ange Postecoglou ditched his core principles and adopted a more conservative approach. Still, Spurs needed a heroic goal-line clearance from Van de Ven and a late save from Vicario to come out victorious. The Australian manager’s game plan worked, as he stated in his post-game interview that the lead made his team settle in. As a result, defensive integrity secured Tottenham’s fourth European trophy and first silverware since 2008.

Use the arrows to scroll through all available match plots. Click to enlarge.
Check the match plots page for plots of other matches.