The feel-good factor appears fully restored in Tottenham, where Ange Postecoglou narrowly avoided his first defeat as Spurs boss after Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski scored in the 97th and 100th minutes to erase a 1-0 deficit and beat Sheffield United 2-1 on Saturday.
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Sheffield United frustrated Tottenham for much of the afternoon, defending deep and denying the hosts much, if any, space in behind. The Blades were on their way to stealing all three points and picking up their first victory of the season after Gustavo Hamer broke the scoreless deadlock from a poorly defended long throw in the 73rd minute.
Stoppage time was plentiful and profitable for Tottenham, though, as Richarlison got on the end of Ivan Perisic’s corner kick seven minutes into added time and the Brazilian picked up the assist when he found Kulusevski inside the penalty for an emphatic finish and eruption among the north London faithful three minutes later.
The latest winning comeback in @premierleague history.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 16, 2023
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. pic.twitter.com/P0mMXRdTIA
Postecoglou still developing patterns of play
Four games into the Postecoglou era, Tottenham proved themselves a deadly counter-attacking side, as expected given everything we knew about the Australian from his time at Celtic. The tough question that would need to be answered eventually (on Saturday, it turns out) was what the attacking play would look like when the opposition didn’t make a real effort to get forward and attack themselves. Sheffield United asked that question, and Spurs did not have the answer.
26 shots, 1.63 xG, 9 shots blocked (including all five of Dejan Kulusevski’s attempts, all of which were taken inside a five-yard space on the right edge of the penalty area), 14 corner kicks. 510-170 passes completed. Too long, didn’t read: It was all incredibly predictable from Spurs, and dictated to them by Sheffield United (for 90-plus minutes).
The above was written before Spurs hit back in the 97th and 100th minutes (obviously), but the point still rings true for a side with 33 league games still to play this season. Better sides than Sheffield United will be able to see out the game in the same scenario.
What’s next?
Spurs’ attention now turns to the north London derby next Sunday (9 am ET), away to Arsenal. Sheffield United will host Newcastle United also on Sunday (11:30 am ET).
Tottenham vs Sheffield United, final score: 2-1
Goalscorers: Gustavo Hamer (73'), Richarlison (90'+7), Dejan Kulusevski (90'+10)
How to watch Tottenham vs Sheffield United live, stream link, time
Kickoff: 10am ET, Saturday (Sept. 16)
TV channel: Peacock Premium
Stream: Watch online on Peacock Premium
From our friends at FotMob.com…
Basham Captain. ©️
— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited) September 16, 2023
Thomas Debut. 👊
McAtee Starts. 🪄
Here's how United line up at Spurs in the @premierleague. 🔴 pic.twitter.com/Qd2bTI6lF8
Your XI for this afternoon 👊 pic.twitter.com/MLLBXHArgq
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 16, 2023
Ange Postecoglou’s system may be the star of Spurs’ season, but the club’s marquee signing of the summer is the brightest spot on the pitch.
James Maddison leads the team in expected goals, shots on target, assists, created chances, accurate long balls per 90, expected assists, and expected goals. Not terrible.
Pape Sarr and Guglielmo Vicario are also starring in Ange-Ball, which has not had the benefit of Rodrigo Betancur. Bryan Gil, Ryan Sessegnon, Giovani Lo Celso, and Alfie Whiteman are all out.
Blades have had a number of injuries early this season, and only two could return for this weekend; Tom Davies and Yasser Larouci look to return as the former builds up his match fitness and the latter recovers from a lower back injury.
Daniel Jebbison, Rhian Brewster, Rhys Norrington-Davies, John Fleck, Ben Osborn, John Egan and Max Lowe will all be unavailable.
A familiar face has been standing out for Paul Heckingbottom’s side, one whose been with the Blades since the 2018-19 Championship season. Oliver Norwood has 57 caps for Northern Ireland and 227 appearances for United, but his import now may be more significant than ever.