Plenty of eyebrows were raised when Jose Mourinho was appointed as the coach of Tottenham Hotspur following the departure of longtime manager Mauricio Pochettino. While the Portuguese might have been underwhelming in his first season in charge, his second has been absolutely phenomenal.
While the addition of many new faces over the summer can surely be considered as a winning point for the ‘Special One’, no other change has been as productive and as visible as the newfound partnership between Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son.
The duo combined effectively for the first goal against Arsenal, in what was another candidate for goal of the season for Spurs’ number 7. The second just showed how well the two players know each other, with Son making a cheeky flick to supply Kane to finish an unstoppable shot.
The pair have now combined 30 times to score goals in the Premier League. The likes of Lampard and Drogba combined together 36 times in all. That record, held by Spurs’ London rivals, could be broken as early as later this season.
Mourinho has set them up to defend very deep, as is usual for any lineup set up by the Portuguese. The additional block is created by the wingers, Bergwijn and Son, being watchful of the opposition fullbacks and coming back to defend without the ball.
Spurs win the ball deep in or around the penalty area and rely on their passing to get the ball to one of their midfielders or Harry Kane. Once there, the two wingers, Son and Bergwijn, use their blistering pace to get up the flanks and provide more of an attacking threat.
This creates a scenario where the opposition defenders are outnumbered, should their other players be slow in getting back. And the counter-attacking spell is hence completed by an attempt at goal.
This is the philosophy that Jose Mourinho has perfected in his second season at Spurs, with Kane supplying the runners on the flanks similar to that of Bobby Firmino to Salah or Mane at Liverpool.
Should they manage to keep up this form in the games to follow, the 2020/21 season could be the year for the Londoners to complete their quest for Premier League silverware.
