Analysis: Tottenham

Tottenham set up using a 4-2-3-1 formation, which converted into a 3-4-3 structure when building attacks, with full-backs Danny Rose and Kyle Walker-Peters pushing into midfield and Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura playing up alongside Harry Kane.

Initially, the hosts struggled to sustain a fluid rhythm in possession. Leicester’s midfielders and forwards intensely pressed, as Spurs tried to build short from goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. This intense pressing forced Tottenham to use longer balls over the visitors’ midfield. Harry Kane moved into a wider position, mainly on the left, to provide an outlet to build out of the heavy Leicester pressure. Kane could also make blindside runs across his opponents’ back line, as Danny Simpson at right-back couldn’t track the striker in central areas.

After going a goal down in the fourth minute, Tottenham immediately responded. Kane pounced on to a loose ball after Lucas Moura intercepted a poor pass from Simpson. Kane drove towards goal, and struck a low left-footed drive that flew inside the near post of Eldin Jakupovic’s goal. Tottenham’s joy was short-lived though, as less than 10 minutes later they were again punished despite dominating the majority of possession.

Spurs changed their build, with full-backs Danny Rose and Kyle Walker-Peters moving even higher. With Leicester’s midfield unit blocking central passes, they were naturally very compact and narrow. Tottenham could therefore take advantage of this by pushing their full-backs up the pitch.

Erik Lamela moved inside from the right side of midfield, which enabled Walker-Peters to overlap and provide dangerous crosses for Kane and Moura to attack. Rose didn’t have the same space in which to overlap on the left, however, as Moura only moved inside at the last moment of the attack.

Both Rose and Walker-Peters had a significant influence on Tottenham’s attacking play throughout the second half, though. Leicester’s wide midfielders struggled to recover, as they often expended most of their energy on fast attacking transitions. This enabled both full-backs to repeatedly rampage down the wings, as Moura and Lamela simultaneously moved inside, overloading Leicester’s central defenders.

In a chaotic and electric second half featuring six goals, Tottenham’s second, third and fourth goals were all provided by crosses from their full-backs. Leicester’s central defenders struggled to contain the movement of Tottenham’s front line. Kane, naturally, was a priority for the Foxes defence – but they twice left Lamela unmarked to tap home. Kane grabbed the final goal of the game, selling substitute Hamza Choudhury with an excellently disguised dummy before curling a wonderful effort into the far corner.

Late on, Tottenham converted into a 3-5-2 defensive shape to protect against any potential late counter-attacks from Leicester. Davinson Sanchez was introduced to the defence, adding to the hosts’ strength in central areas.