Analysis: West Brom

West Brom set up in a 4-4-1-1 that would occasionally become a 4-4-2 or a 4-5-1 depending on the state of the game.

The Baggies made their intentions very clear from the start. They would concede possession and deny Tottenham the space to attack in dangerous areas. They kept the distances between their lines extremely compact, and forced Spurs to seek creative solutions or resort to hopeful clips into the box. They cleared the latter with little trouble, Ahmed Hegazi in particular a warrior at the back throughout.

The hosts would rarely press in central areas, instead looking to force Spurs into wide areas, where they would double up on the attacking wing-backs. Matt Phillips and Allan Nyom did this with superb consistency against Danny Rose on the Tottenham left, repeatedly preventing any crosses of genuine quality coming into the box.

In transition, West Brom looked a little vulnerable as they had less control over the larger spaces – but they generally recovered well as a team and managed to escape any real threat. They might have been exploited by a team moving the ball with greater speed and with more willing runners than Tottenham on the day, however.

In possession, the hosts had limited options and didn’t see much of the ball. The key strategy was to clear the ball with height and distance to Salomon Rondon, who would either run into the channel or look to hold the ball up. They also looked to play to their wide men, Phillips and James McClean, in the space vacated by Rose and Kieran Trippier, but their crosses were often blocked.

Rondon was particularly adept at winning fouls for his team through his hold-up play, providing West Brom with further opportunities to get the ball into the box – a key area of strength. The eventual switch of Rondon for Daniel Sturridge appeared a strange one, then, but it did allow them to try to build attacks rather than just send the ball forward – and the introduction of Nacer Chadli also made the home side more threatening on the counter-attack.

That said, the goal came from a set-piece. Phillips took the inswinging corner, which Dawson attacked at the back post before Livermore managed to scramble it over the line and earn his rookie manager an impressive scalp.