In Attack

91% of Tottenham’s passes qualified as being “short”. That is, 738 of their 805 completed attempts fell into that category.

In other words, they preferred a methodical buildup. As most possession-dominant sides do, Tottenham would cycle possession along their backline, probing for gaps in Newcastle’s shape.

The focal point of their attacks was finding Lucas Moura deep in the right channel, although he was shadowed closely by Matt Ritchie.

In the clip below, Tottenham utilises short passing, so that the ball finds central midfielder Moussa Sissoko, who has dropped deep to engage in buildup. He lays it off to the right back, Kyle Walker-Peters, who immediately scans for Lucas.

On this day, there was no easy path down the right channel, so possession cycles back in the other direction.