Leeds United (Away) 26.02.2022

Antonio Conte’s comments after the Turf Moor loss might have been designed to garner a response from the Spurs team and playing against shell-shocked  Leeds, who had been hit for six in midweek, could not have been a better game to come next.  There was still the capacity for Spurs to slip below the standards that Conte sets for them, but this was a performance that offers hope through the quality of play and the creation of the goals, even though it was against a struggling side.

Doherty and Sessegnon were installed in the wing-back positions and with Bentantcur’s injury picked up at Burnley keeping him out, Winks and Hojbjerg played in the centre of the midfield four.  Inside the third minute Spurs might have gone behind when Kulusevski was deemed to have fouled James on our  right side and the free kick was played in by Dallas with pace, finding Struijk rising highest. Luckily for Spurs his header was narrowly wide to the left of  Lloris’s goal.

Tottenham started to build into the game with Ryan Sessegnon’s cross from the left side nearly found Harry Kane trying to get ahead of Meslier, but the ball was claimed by the keeper. Son then shot straight at the keeper and then Kane was on the end of a move on the Spurs right, trying to to chip the ball over  Meslier, but the ball drifted wide.

When Leeds lost the ball, Winks played a superb pass inside the full back for Sessegnon to run onto. Off the ball, Luke Ayling had pulled Son to the floor, but it didn’t matter as Ryan’s square ball across the box found Matt Doherty running in to hit the ball to Meslier’s left from just outside the middle of the six yard box to make it 1-0 to Tottenham. It was a really good move and with the Leeds captain concentrating on dragging a man down instead of getting back to  defend, Doherty had the run on the right back to arrive at exactly the right time.

Sessegnon took down a diagonal free-kick around Dallas and his cross found Kulusevski, but his run into the box was blocked out for a corner, which Meslier took under pressure from Kane. When the ball was played to him on the right touchline, Kulusevski did well to hold the ball down in the right-hand corner, playing a ball to Doherty, taking the return and when Llorente ran over the ball without making a tackle, Dejan drilled the ball left-footed past the keeper at his near post. It was a fine solo goal and one that included yet another error from the Leeds back four.

Leeds almost got back into the game straight away when a ball into the Spurs box was touched in front of Robin Koch and his shot bounced back out off Hugo’s left-hand post. The desperation among the Leeds players was exhibited with a series of fouls, as they tried to rough Spurs up, but they only succeeded  in breaking up their own rhythm.

Son took a really high ball forward from Dier and Spurs enjoyed some possession around the 25 yard line, with the ball coming to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. His  pass from right of centre 25 yards out to the left was delightfully flighted over Llorente with Harry Kane drifting in behind him to calmly side-foot a volley  across Meslier into the goal to find the net for the third time for Spurs with just 27 minutes gone. It was another brilliant pass that created the goal and it was  excellently executed by Kane to punish Leeds.

Just on the half hour, another crude foul on Son gave Spurs a free kick on halfway, which Kane took quickly to put Sessegnon in behind Dallas, who was ball-watching and only a save from the Leeds keeper at his near post kept out Ryan’s low left-footer.  Thirty-eight minutes had gone when Ayling fired a shot from  the edge of the box and it hit a Spurs player, with handball claimed by the home players. Play went on and Harrison’s low cross to the near post was kept out  by Lloris and Dier, with James closing in. Hugo’s head caught Dier’s knee and he needed treatment before play continued. Leeds played a pass beyond  Sessegnon for Rafinha to get a run on him, but his cross was well defended ahead of the near post by Davies. The corner was played back in when cleared, with Rafinha finding space on the right again, but Sessegnon did enough to put it out for another corner, which Spurs cleared at the near post. A free-kick on the  right for Leeds was taken by Rafinha, looking to find someone’s head with a bit of pace, but it had far too much on it and it flew over everyone for a goal-kick.  Ayling headed wide and high when he really should have got it on target, after Harrison and Junior Firpo had worked a good move on their left for the left-back to cross.

With the last play of the half, Son threw a great block to a Struijk shot, got up to play the ball, dragged it back causing two Leeds players to collide and nicked it to Sessegnon on the left. Looking up, he played it forward to Winks, whose little header freed Kane on the left. Kulusevski was in acres of space on the right of the box, but Llorente got back to get just enough on it to take it through to Meslier and the half-time whistle went to bring boos cascading down form the Elland Road terraces occupied by the home fans.

The second half brought two changes for Leeds and a booking for Ryan Sessegnon for his second foul on Rafinha, while Ayling had been getting away kicking (and pushing over) Son all of the first half.  The free-kick was taken in the air by Hugo and then their response continued with a shot from Dallas that flew way over the top.

Romero was clattered by Firpo and James, but oddly the yellow card was waved at Firpo for kicking the ball away rather than the awful challenge. From it, Spurs built from the back and Romero made a forward run exchanging passes with Kulusevski and his pull back from the right side of the box after being too strong for Koch’s challenge was just behind the Spurs players. Son had a good run from just inside the Leeds half, but it finished with a shot that lacked any power, but another break saw Kane release Doherty on the right, resulting in the Irishman playing a low ball to the far post, where Ryan Sessegnon was just unable to reach it. In doing so he collided with the post and needed treatment.

With an hour gone, Kane played a fine ball to Doherty in the right channel and he took a heavy touch that gave Meslier the opportunity to block it with his face. The rebound dropped for Son, but there were four defenders back, with Koch blocking Heung-Min’s effort. When Romero was fouled by Rodrigo in front of the bench, Conte got a yellow when asking why a yellow card wasn’t given to Rodrigo for his second foul inside a couple of minutes. From the free-kick Kane played a pass off to the left, where the right back Dallas slipped, leaving Sessegnon in and his shot was fired into the side-netting.

Leeds wanted a penalty when Klich went down under a slight push by Kulusevski, but there was no interest form the officials, then Dejan was there at the other end when Doherty broke on the right and the ball came to the Swede, who came inside to find space 20 yards out to drive at goal, forcing Meslier to push the ball wide for a corner, but the keeper took it when it was put into the area.  A clever free-kick from Leeds saw everyone expecting a cross into the box from their right by Rafinha, but he played it square to Forshaw. The midfielder’s shot was weak and blocked, but the ball came back to him only to be hit high into the crowd. Following that Spurs had a long spell of possession at the back, playing it into midfield and then back before going forward for Doherty to
pull the ball back for Kulusevski, but his shot was blocked.

Spurs won a couple of corners on the Leeds right, with the second seeing Son take a return pass from Winks and run beyond the men on his side, but his pull back was cleared. From the third corner Leeds broke away, Lloris came out to clear, but Dallas won the ball off him a Hugo looked to pass to Hojbjerg and with only Sessegnon between him and goal. With Rafinha to his right, he dwelt on the ball and when he did get the ball onto his right foot, Ben Davies appeared  from nowhere to make a fine block. As Spurs tried to move the ball away, Kane was brutally taken out by Rodrigo and a yellow card was waved to add yet another to the ever-growing Leeds list.

Spurs played a neat move when Son and Bergwijn linked well and Steven’s ball into Son outside the six-yard box found him with a defender at his back and he tried to head the ball up in the air to make some space, but it was headed away. There was a moment of worry when Leeds broke with Rafinha moving up the right, but when it was squared to James, he took a touch and side-footed wide with a soft shot.

Kane won the ball 35 yards out from the Leeds goal and played a sweet pass inside the defenders for substitute Emerson Royal to receive in the box with only Meslier to beat. Royal decided to try and take the ball to the keeper’s left, but he did well to knock the ball away from the Spurs right wing-back. Son blocked a clearance and he passed to Emerson, but his pass back to Son was behind the striker.

It looked as though Hojbjerg had lost the ball but he retained possession and knocked it to Harry Kane. Palming off Forshaw. He struck a brilliant first-time pass for Son, who had run off the back of Llorente and Ayling was too far away from him, so when Meslier went down early, it was an easy task to shoot over him to make it 4-0 and the Kane-Son partnership as now the most productive in Premier League history with a 37th link up. A great pass and a fine finish signalled the home sections of the crowd to begin to empty.

It was Son’s last kick as Dane Scarlett was given a few minutes with the game won. Rafinha flashed a late volley over the bar before he was fouled centrally, 22 yards out, by Davies to hand a free-kick for the Brazilian to take, rattling Lloris’ left-hand post with Hugo left standing. With the ball bouncing around the Spurs box, Rodrigo got a shot away in the melee that was going on, but it was partially blocked and it gently went into Hugo’s chest. When Shackleton fired a low ball across goal, there was not a white shirt to convert it and that was it, as Pawson blew for full-time.

It is not difficult to see why Leeds are allowing goals in so easily. Their defence is too easily beaten, with a man-for-man detail for one of them, allowing him to be pulled out of position too simply and there is a lack of tactical and physical discipline among the defence that means they are ragged and too intent on making contact with the man rather than the ball. Spurs exploited it and made the chances count after the disappointing result at Burnley.

Spurs were on it almost from the start today, although Leeds did have their chances, but failed to take any of them. With Kane showing such fine form, it proved too much for Manchester City, so Leeds had little chance when he is firing on all cylinders. Every Spurs player put in a performance today, with few mistakes made during the game, dominating the ball and finding so much space that the score could have been six or seven nil.

Great news from elsewhere was that Christian Eriksen made his return to playing football with a substitute’s appearance for Brentford in their 0-2 home loss to Newcastle.  We wish him well on his future on the pitch.

More and harder games are to come than this one against a desperately poor Leeds side, but this level of performance will help a late challenge towards the top six.

Adam Emerson