Premier League: Tottenham's start is too good

Winning the first two rounds without conceding a goal is something that even Real Madrid in La Liga have not achieved in 21 years. Tottenham have done so this season, under the leadership of new coach Thomas Frank.

SUCCESSFUL FROM RESULTS TO PLAY

Tottenham almost had a shot at historic glory before the season even started. They led 2-0 against Champions League winners PSG in the European Super Cup. However, they were equalized 2-2 and lost the penalty shootout. Regrettable, not blameworthy. In fact, almost no one thought Tottenham could hold their own against the best team in the world , let alone take the lead.

That was not a fleeting surprise. After a "watchable" debut in the European Super Cup, Coach Thomas Frank brought Tottenham 6 absolute points in the first 2 rounds of the Premier League: winning 3-0 against Burnley, and especially winning 2-0 right at the Etihad Stadium of the championship candidate Man.City.

Tottenham ( right ) have won all two of their first two rounds of the Premier League.

PHOTO: AFP

Tottenham have been better than both PSG and Man.City in terms of playing style in recent matches. This is admirable, because coach Frank has just taken over a team that is familiar with the "Angeball" philosophy of former coach Ange Postecoglu, and has just said goodbye to mainstay Son Heung-min. On the other hand, no one can doubt the level of fluency in playing style or familiarity within the team of PSG and Man.City. Veteran coaches Luis Enrique and Pep Guardiola have coached those super strong teams for many years. PSG and Man.City must be called football machines.

NO PHILOSOPHY AT ALL

Modern football is increasingly filled with philosophical values, named after coaches like Guardiola, Enrique, Juergen Klopp, Xabi Alonso, or even... Postecoglu - the coach that Tottenham had to fire even after winning the Europa League. They redefine the way football is played, according to their own point of view, and guide the team towards that unique way of playing.

Thomas Frank has been successful over the years mainly because of his talent in helping the small Brentford team stay at the Premier League level. Such a small team cannot afford any philosophy because it cannot afford to buy the right stars, nor can it retain good players. The only way for coach Frank to survive at a small team like Brentford is to always have flexible solutions, suitable for different situations. Frank's Brentford must always change, depending on the specific opponent, depending on the specific time (after each season, Brentford has to say goodbye to its best players).

Flexibility has also been Tottenham's most obvious characteristic in recent matches. Coach Frank set up a 3-5-2 formation, then switched to 5-4-1, prioritizing tight defense when facing PSG. Against Burnley, it was a 4-2-3-1 formation, switching to 4-4-2 when in possession, and Tottenham kept the ball a lot in the win over Burnley. When playing away at Man.City, Tottenham played a basic 4-2-3-1 formation, with the emphasis on the way of playing rather than the formation. Against an opponent famous for pressing, Tottenham won by pressing, to the point where the opposing goalkeeper was forced into a mistake, passing the ball right to the feet of the Tottenham striker.

In short, Coach Frank's professional path is to prepare tactics for each match and adjust during the match, without any consistent philosophy or style of play.

Match schedule August 30

18:30: Chelsea - Fulham

21:00: Wolves - Everton

Tottenham - Bournemouth

MU - Burnley

Sunderland - Brentford

23:30: Leeds - Newcastle

Premier League faces difficulties in Champions League

According to the results of the Champions League group stage draw yesterday, August 29, Arsenal FC is in a difficult situation when facing Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Brugge, Olympiakos, Slavia Prague, Kairat, Athletic Bilbao. In 14 times Arsenal met Bayern Munich, the "Gunners" only won 3, drew 3, lost 8.

The automatic draw also pits Real Madrid against two Premier League clubs with a lot of history, Liverpool and Man.City. Coach Xabi Alonso's team will meet Man.City at the Bernabeu and Liverpool at Anfield. The Spanish Royal Club will also face Juventus, Benfica, Marseille, Olympiakos, Monaco and Kairat in the group stage. In the past 11 years, Real have met Liverpool 9 times, including the finals in 2018 and 2022, with the Spanish representative winning. Real have also met Man.City 12 times in just the last 9 seasons. Among the English clubs, Tottenham are considered to have an easy time when they only have to face Dortmund, PSG, Villarreal, Frankfurt, Slavia Prague, Bodo/Glimt, Copenhagen and Monaco.

This is the second season of the Champions League using a league format (an expanded group stage) instead of the traditional group stage. The 36 clubs will play 8 matches against 8 different opponents, 4 at home and 4 away. The computer ensures that each team faces two clubs from each seeding pot, avoiding overlapping nations. The league matches will take place from September 2025 to the end of January 2026.

Lingnan

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ngoai-hang-anh-tottenham-khoi-dau-qua-on-185250829203501089.htm