Tottenham fielded a rather strange lineup against Manchester City this week.
Indeed, when Spurs’ teamsheet was released before the game, many pondered what the team would actually look like on the pitch.
Only two recognised attackers started the game, and nobody was sure quite what the team was supposed to be.
Ultimately, Tottenham began the game with Heung-Min Son and Brennan Johnson playing up front, in wider roles, while Pape Matar Sarr and James Maddison almost played as a pair of shadow strikers.
Speaking on the Gold and Guest Talk Tottenham Podcast. Alasdair Gold has been discussing this team selection, and he’s claimed that people within Tottenham were shocked by Maddison’s position in particular.
Gold says that many within the club thought the Englishman was due to start on the left wing.
People within Tottenham shocked by James Maddison’s positioning
Gold spoke about Tottenham’s team selection and
“I messaged Ali when the team news came out and we thought it was Maddison on the left, but when we watched it and within two minutes my son was saying is Pape Sarr playing up front?” Gold’s co-host said.
“People within Spurs thought it was Maddison on the left as well, so everyone was surprised by it, it was a great move,” Gold said.
Ange Postecoglou tried something different
Using Maddison alongside Sarr in this withdrawn striker role was an interesting choice against Manchester City, and, in a lot of ways, it worked.
Barring two defensive mistakes, Spurs went blow-for-blow with City for most of this game, and if it weren’t for some heroics from Stefan Ortega, perhaps Tottenham could’ve won this one.
All season long there have been cries for Ange Postecoglou to try something different, and against Manchester City his tinkering very nearly paid off.