Tottenham out of breath in the race for the top four

Arsenal’s 3-1 victory over Man Utd put Tottenham in a battle with pressure to win. To do that, they need the attack to open again after losing the fuse against Brighton in the previous round. However, although the match was no longer meaningful in terms of results with Brentford, the home team still played with determination and made it difficult for the army under Antonio Conte.

Right from the beginning of the game, Brentford actively pressed and created clear scoring opportunities. From Ryan Sessegnon’s loss, Bryan Mbeumo missed the post. Then there are the consecutive corner situations of the home team. Brentford’s deadliest shot of the first half was Ivan Toney’s tight header. Luckily for the away team, the ball bounced off the crossbar and out.

At the end of the first half, Tottenham just started to coordinate. Rodrigo Bentancur passed Son Heung-min as the wall. But Harry Kane’s next shot was too light. This was one of only two shots by the away team in the first half, compared to six by the home team.

Tottenham’s face did not change much after the break. Their play improved a bit at the beginning of the second half, when Kane or Bentancur had the opportunity to step in the penalty area but failed. When Tottenham’s strikers were closely watched, the lack of creativity of Tottenham’s midfield was revealed, similar to the loss to Brighton.

Witnessing the home team bogged down, but in the 86th minute, Conte replaced him in attack when he brought Lucas Moura into the field. The Italian coach used only two substitutions for the whole match, and did not bring in players who could make a difference like Steven Bergwijn, Sergio Reguilon or Harry Winks.

Meanwhile, Brentford’s long ball play is further promoted thanks to the accurate passing ability of goalkeeper David Raya. Many times, Raya’s launch lines put the home strikers in a favorable position to accelerate. However, the Tottenham midfielders, especially Cristian Romero, had a focused day.

In addition to the excellence of the defenders, luck helped Tottenham escape defeat in some situations. In the first minute of injury time, Toney was denied a goal for the second time by the wooden frame. This time, his header caught Lloris’s footing, but the ball hit the outside edge of the post. Mbeumo had the opportunity to kick the ball into the empty goal but shoot it out.

The highlight of the match was probably the performance of Christian Eriksen in the reunion with his old club. In the second half, the Danish midfielder had two remarkable shots. One of them was a shot that sank into a tight corner at close range, which was blocked by Lloris. After the match, Eriksen was asked by Tottenham fans and asked for an autograph.

Tottenham controlled the ball 56% of the game. But their number of shots fell short of their opponents, nine to 15. The away team’s disappointing day was reflected in the fact that they didn’t have any shots on target. Perhaps the most notable effort was Kane’s crouching in the second minute of injury time, sending the ball wide of the post.

The draw leaves Tottenham two points behind Arsenal when the two teams have five games left to play. Conte’s teachers and students will take on Leicester in the next match on May 1. Brentford has reason to regret not winning. But the 11th place is enough to guarantee them to stay in the Premier League next season. Thomas Frank’s teachers and students will be guests of Man Utd in the next round.

List of competitions

Brentford: Raya, Roerslev, Jansson, Sorensen, Henry, Janelt, Jensen (Wissa 78′), Eriksen, Mbeumo, Toney, Ghoddos (Da Silva 78′).

Tottenham: Lloris, Romero, Dier, Davies, Emerson (Moura 86′), Bentancur, Hojbjerg, Sessegnon (Sanchez 74′), Kulusevski, Kane, Son.

Quang Huy