Sign up to FREE email alerts from Football London - Spurs Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A defeat but something to build on

This was only Jose Mourinho's second full, uninterrupted week working with his Tottenham players and unlike the Chelsea match after the first week, you could see the work he had done on the training ground this time.

In fact the main thing to infuriate him about the defeat to Liverpool was that the goal conceded was something they had worked hard on to prevent.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

"The throw-in that started the goal, it was our thrown-in. Mane was the last to touch the ball. It was our thrown-in. From there they scored a goal," he explained.

"However, because I am a players' coach, not a referee's coach, I have to be a little bit upset with my boys in relation to that one because yesterday in training we spent a long, long time working on defensive throw-ins and it was where we conceded a goal, but that's football. For me positives, lots of positives from the players, lots of positives from the team.

"The team in great difficulties in this moment, difficult to try to create a puzzle to be in conditions to compete against such a good opponent so I have only reasons to be happy with the work we did in the week and what the boys did in the game."

There were clear patterns of play from Spurs with plenty of protection for the defence.

In the first half they used a fluid back three which was just as much a back four with Premier League debutant Japhet Tanganga able to play as the right-back with Serge Aurier in an almost free role as either a right winger or coming inside to bolster the midfield.

In the first half Spurs played more of a counter game before switching it up in the second period to more of a pressing game, aided by the aggression and fresh legs of Erik Lamela and Giovani Lo Celso.

"If we try to play the way we did in the last 20 minutes, if we try to play that way from the beginning, I think we collapse because the players are not used to playing with this style and they are not adapted," said Mourinho.

"On top of that we don't have many solutions and I think difficulty in midfield. Eriksen played central midfield with Harry Winks. You know, Jordan Henderson, Wijnaldum, Oxlade-Chamberlain, intensity, difficult.

"So I think our plan was good. What we didn't plan was to concede a goal obviously. But we knew that without a striker, with creative players, even with Lamela, without starting a game for three months and being away for two months, we knew that Lamela, Giovani, they could for 25, 30 minutes turn the game. I think we did the maximum we could do. I think we deserved more. That's my feeling."

The result was disappointing but there were plenty of positives to be taken.

Tottenham defended well and were creating chances again, especially when Lamela and Lo Celso entered the fray, and there were plenty of glimpses of the spirit that have carried them through previous periods without Harry Kane.

The 61,203-strong crowd felt reignited and noisy after the recent slump and the players and Mourinho must maintain that momentum.

It might have been a defeat, but this felt like something the Spurs boss can use as a turning point.

(Image: Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

Welcome to the Premier League Japhet Tanganga

Other than one split second moment this Premier League debut was everything Japhet Tanganga would have dreamt of.

Those who have watched the 20-year-old come through the academy at Spurs know just how good he is and that he has all the attributes to fit into the top flight.

His biggest problem in recent years was that his international summer call-ups meant he missed the pre-season tours where Mauricio Pochettino looked at the younger players in the club and began integrating the best into his first team.

Tanganga finally made a tour squad last summer and grabbed his opportunity with both hands, impressing against Juventus and marking Cristiano Ronaldo in Singapore, Manchester United in Shanghai and then Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the Audi Cup in Germany.

He made his competitive debut as one of the few to shine in the Carabao Cup defeat at Colchester United.

Yet further minutes evaded him, despite the defensive woes at Tottenham.

When his Premier League debut came on Saturday it would be against arguably the best team in the world right now. He was told on Tuesday that he would be playing by Mourinho and told the Spurs boss that he would not be scared if he stepped on to the pitch. He was true to his word.

Tanganga made his intentions clear from the start, winning a big header in the opening minute, sweeping into challenges, making interceptions and striding up the pitch with the ball at his feet.

He soon made a great goalline block to deny Roberto Firmino after he shot past Paulo Gazzaniga.

The young defender's one mistake of the game was in being turned cleverly by the Brazilan after his older, experienced team-mates had switched off from a wrongly given throw-in. Firmino tricked his way past him and buried his shot.

Tanganga didn't let it affect him and continued to impress in the second half, showing his versatility by switching to left-back as Danny Rose went off.

He even carried on after a poor, shin-high challenge by Andrew Robertson which perhaps should have resulted in more of a punishment for the Liverpool full-back.

(Image: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

"He played well. I think the kid has reason to be very happy with his level, not with the result obviously, but with his first game in the Premier League. It couldn't be a bigger one and he did it amazingly," said Mourinho.

"First on the right and then on the left, first Mane and then Salah, and I think he was fantastic so I don't want to take any credit for that. I worked with him only for a couple of months. I think academy, coaches who worked with him for so many years.

"I think it's a good moment for him and I think it's also a message for the kids in the academy that when the player is the right player with the right attitude and right qualities, the opportunity arises."

Even Jurgen Klopp weighed in, saying: "I didn’t know about him and it was a surprise. Our match day analyst told me about him.

"He played well. It was nice when the crowd cheered his name [before kick-off]. It was his first Premier League game? Very impressive."

Later when taking a question about potential transfers, Mourinho added: "Can we say Tanganga is a new player? Can we say that? He never played a match for Tottenham in the Premier League. Today he played and today he proved that he can play for us.

"It's a pity that he's not a striker, it's a pity that he's not a midfield player, but he's one more player that we have.

"So I think Mane and Salah, they know who Tanganga is. They didn't know before the game. I think when they saw the list they wondered where this guy plays. I think now they know.

"The kid was really good so instead of speaking, or crying about Harry Kane and Sissoko and Lloris and Ben Davies, let's smile with Tanganga."

The fans now need to continue to smile with Tanganga because he will get more chances and he will pen a new deal at the club to reflect his rise but he will also make mistakes because he's a young player.

More than in any position, young defenders need that understanding that they have to grow and learn and they are in a role where mistakes lead to goals.

Spurs have another one of their own and they have to nurture him carefully.

(Image: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

An Eriksen farewell?

If this was to be Christian Eriksen's last match then it was unfortunately one that summed up too many of his appearances in the last 12 months.

There's no denying that the Dane has been a terrific player over the years for Tottenham. He's contributed more assists and goals than many others in the club's history and for much of the Pochettino era Eriksen was the team's conductor. Everything good came from his talented feet.

The reality is that Eriksen remained at the club for perhaps as much as two years too long. He sat down for post-season meal with Pochettino in Copenhagen two summers ago and whether it was decided then that he would stick around for another year, not knowing it would be two, it did no favours to either him or the club.

With familiarity and a complete lack of competition in the playmaker stakes, so Eriksen became stale and his skills dulled.

A man who scored some of the Premier League's best free-kicks and whipped in dangerous corners galore became someone whose set pieces regularly fail to beat the first man.

His passing radar has been well off, the goals drying up on the whole and the disappointment of not taking that big step in Madrid and signing off his Spurs time with the Champions League trophy weighed heavy on him and others.

Now Inter Milan are looking to fulfil his hopes of a new lifestyle for his family in a very different culture and league.

The Serie A leaders are leading the chase for his signature and are willing to pay around £17m to make it happen now rather than in the summer in order to ensure they win the league.

It's the best solution for all parties as Spurs don't lose Eriksen for free, the player gets his fresh start and the club have money to put towards a replacement.

It's just a shame that if this is to be his last match then it bore all the hallmarks of the malaise he's found himself in and there were jeers as he was replaced by Lo Celso, who instantly brought the aggressive tackling to the pitch that Eriksen always avoids.

After the final whistle Eriksen braved any possible backlash to walk over to the corner of the south and west stands in order to give one fan his shirt. Rather than walk back across the pitch, he continued down the touchline waving to the crowd.

It felt very much like a farewell and if he does move to join Antonio Conte's side this week or this month, then hopefully the fans will remember what Eriksen did for them over the years rather than his struggles in the past 12 months.

A midfielder is incoming and others may follow

Spurs are closing in on providing Mourinho with another midfield option and it's one of his fellow countrymen.

Gedson Fernandes only turned 21 on Thursday and the club are looking to see off competition to tie up an 18-month loan deal with an option to make the move from Benfica a permanent one at the end of that.

After a metatarsal injury kept him out of the start to the season in Portugal he has found himself in and out of the team, reportedly after a falling out with his manager.

Fernandes has Champions League experience and last season played 46 times, scoring three goals and laying on six assists.

The young Portugal international is a versatile midfielder, mainly playing through the centre but having played on the right and left in recent seasons as well as on the odd occasion as an attacking midfielder or second striker.

He is a young, short-term and long-term replacement for the equally versatile and injured Moussa Sissoko.

Fernandes is not going to be a creative force and he's no Eriksen replacement, but he will add drive, dribbling ability and strength in the tackle to the Tottenham midfield.

He will provide another option during Sissoko's three-month absence while doubts remain over Tanguy Ndombele's fitness since arriving in England.

The young midfielder is a very Spurs signing, full of potential with little paid up front for the loan and a set fee for a later date that remains the same however impressive he is during the next 18 months in the Premier League.

That lack of expense opens the door for other signings to replace those who could leave the club.

Kyle Walker-Peters is heading out underneath the exit sign, with Crystal Palace fronting the queue for the young right-back. Tottenham will look to bring in another right-back if he leaves, preferably another British player to remain on the right side of the homegrown rules.

Moves for Norwich City's Max Aarons and West Brom's Nathan Ferguson are both being weighed up but both players are important to their team's battles at either end of the Premier League and Championship respectively.

Eriksen could leave for Inter while Victor Wanyama can no longer make matchday squads despite the injury crisis at the club.

(Image: Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images)

Should both players depart then it will free up funds to look for another playmaker to ease the burden that will be placed on Lo Celso.

Spurs and Mourinho would love to sign Bruno Fernandes. Tottenham had all but agreed a deal with the player in the summer but hadn't agreed a fee with Sporting, particularly with the lack of movement with Eriksen.

Mourinho is a big fan of the Portugal star and Spurs are looking at him once again, with the prospect of Juan Foyth heading the other way on loan.

However, the fear is that United will outmuscle Tottenham financially if both sides go head to head for the £60m player who started for Lisbon, and scored twice, on Saturday night.

Then there is a striker to fill part of the void left by Harry Kane's injury. Spurs are interested in AC Milan's 24-year-old striker Krzysztof Piatek but much depends on the price tag and whether it remains below £30m.

If it doesn't then don't be surprised if the club move for someone who would certainly not be seen as a sexy signing by the fans to fill the gap and provide back-up to Kane once he returns, someone like Christian Benteke who has Premier League experience if not the goals to boot.

Spurs know they need Champions League football in their stadium once again next season and the enormous finances it provides, not least helping to sell their stadium naming rights with reports that they are looking for more than £400m for a 30-year deal.

For Mourinho to achieve it, amid the injuries and departures and the nine-point gap to fourth-placed Chelsea, he needs help. Would they ever sign four players in a January window even if they moved on three? Over to you Daniel Levy.

Moving forward with Lo Celso, Lamela and that back three

Tottenham now face three games that on paper they should get back on track with. In reality, that's easier said than done, particularly following their dismal, disjointed displays over the festive period.

They need to take the positives from the performance against Liverpool and those mostly came from the defence and the duo who came off the bench.

Lo Celso and Lamela once again gave Spurs energy, drive and that bit of aggression.

The younger Argentine's slide tackle to set the hosts away on the break which ended with Son firing over epitomised how different a playmaker he is to Eriksen.

He could have grabbed the dramatic leveller himself in the final moments and would have been replaying the sliding volley that sent the ball across the face of goal over and over in his head last night in bed.

Despite that Lo Celso proved yet again, with the club yet to activate the deal to sign him permanently for £27.2 million, that he can make an impact in the Premier League and against its best team.

He deserves the chance to show what he can do from the start in the centre of the park with Lamela ahead of him.

If Danny Rose can come into the line-up for his first start since October then so can the Argentine duo and they could well come into the side for Tuesday night's FA Cup replay against Middlesbrough.

Most important for Mourinho though is that he may well have found his perfect back three for the remainder of this season.

Paulo Gazzaniga had relatively little to do on Saturday and much of that was down to the back three in front of him with Tanganga and Davinson Sanchez excellent and providing the pace and power in the air and on the deck with Toby Alderweireld the organiser between them.

Jan Vertonghen's future is still up in the air and removing the out of form Belgian and Eric Dier, Mourinho suddenly transformed a creaking, slow defence into one brimming with pace in two fell swoops.

There will be changes on Tuesday night, Troy Parrott and Oliver Skipp might even get some game time, but when it comes to the trip to Watford next Saturday Mourinho needs to use those who impressed against Liverpool and give the team a whole new dynamic, one they need if they want to keep the pressure on Chelsea.