Tottenham Hotspur’s last season ended with a bang. Appointed mid-season, Antonio Conte was somehow able to work miracles, taking the last available Champions League spot to ensure club captain and all-time top goalscorer Harry Kane continued in North London.
The brilliant signs they displayed led to them being the side most favoured to chase after powerhouses Manchester City and Liverpool, thanks in part to all the drama that their city rivals Chelsea are experiencing and its aftermath. Manchester United didn’t seem to be able to compete either, leaving their North London nemesis Arsenal as their main competitor.
Spurs started their season the same way they ended their last. Three wins from three was only denied when they drew away to Chelsea, where Conte and Thomas Tuchel didn’t leave on the best terms. They managed to beat Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers at home to reach six wins and three draws in their last nine league fixtures, before travelling to Nottingham to face newly promoted Forest for their fourth match-day fixture.
Coming into the game, their talisman Harry Kane had the chance of surpassing Andy Cole on the all-time Premier League top goalscorers list, trailing Cole’s 186 by just one goal.
Forest’s loud re-entry into the top flight of English Football is proof that financially the Premier League deploys its teams with proper firepower. A team which hasn’t been in the first division for the past 24 years was able to spend £147 million on summer signings.
A rebuild was required for them to even dream of competing and staying up this season, sothe likes of Morgan Gibbs-White and Jesse Lingard found their way to Nottingham to keep their careers alive and Forest in the Premier League.
They got beaten by the oil money-infused, new-look Newcastle United on their return, but were able to beat West Ham United thanks to a goal from Taiwo Awoniyi, their £18million signing from Union Berlin, then managed a point away against last year’s survivors Everton. Four points in the first three games is nowhere near a bad start, but the Premier League teaches us to make the most of the opportunity when possible, otherwise the tide can turn quickly.
Steve Cooper opted to drop Taiwo Awoniyi and Orel Mangala to the bench from the line-up that drew with Everton, for the services of Morgan Gibbs-White and Ryan Yates, whereas Antonio Conte made no changes to the side that beat Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Forest started well with early pressure, not letting Spurs play out of their own half.
By pushing Jesse Lingard forward near Gibbs-White and Brennan Johnson, Cooper formed a three-man pressing line in front of the Spurs backline, aiming to prevent the ball reaching the dangerously talented front three of Spurs. Wing-backs Harry Toffolo and Neco Williams were instructed to limit the wide activities of Emerson Royal and Ivan Perisic, while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was used by Conte to overrun Forest’s crowded press by dropping back next to the centre-backs so Ben Davies could operate in his area out wide. However, Forest managed to suppress Spurs’ build up attempts and play the game in the defensive third of the North Londoners.
Despite all the precautions that Cooper took, the deadly attacking trio of Conte couldn’t be stopped. In a rapid counter attack in the 6th minute, Dejan Kulusevski found Kane unmarked at the edge of the box and he was able to fire it past Dean Henderson into the low far corner to make it 1-0 to the visitors. Forest were the 31st Premier League team that Kane managed to score against out of the 32 he has faced, only failing to shake the net against Brentford.
Falling behind didn’t affect Forest’s plans and ambition though, as the home side kept pressuring.
Spurs kept trying to chase counter attacks, and in the 13th minute Hojbjerg was left free to scan and find Kane in behind the disrupted defensive line of Forest, but Joe Worrall was able to recover brilliantly and make a last-ditch tackle before the England captain could fire. Three minutes later a scramble in the Forest box resulted in a first-time shot from Son Heung-Min, but the Korean put it just over. Two minutes later, Spurs find space once again, where Son dribbled and found Kane – the number 10 dragged it right and tried to place the shot, only for it to go wide.
In the 31st minute, Forest were able to develop a counter move of their own when Gibbs-White searched for Lingard with a low through ball, but Hugo Lloris left his line to intercept and clear the danger.
By the 35th minute Forest’s press had won the ball eight times in the attacking third of the pitch compared to just once by Spurs. Despite being a goal down, Forest had many reasons to believe that they could carve something out of the game.
In the 42nd minute, Toffalo found Lingard in Spurs’ box with a low drilled ball, and Lingard moved it on with one touch to Gibbs-White for him to shoot, but he put it just over.
Despite Forest’s pressure, the first half ended with a one goal lead to the visitors.
In the 51st minute came the second half’s first significant action, when a deep ball found Gibbs-White, allowing him to cross for Yates, but his header went wide.
Just one minute later, Spurs answered with a counter move, Kane found Perisic with a deep cross but the Croatian put it over the goal. Perisic returned the favour a minute later, when his cross to the back post nearly found Kane to make it 2-0. Steve Cook made an acrobatic defensive move to avoid the goal, but committed a handball in the process, giving away a penalty and earning a yellow card. Kane picked up the ball for the chance to pass Andy Cole’s goal tally in the Premier League, having scored his previous 21 penalties for Spurs, but, already responsible for his side’s only win so far in the Premier League by saving Declan Rice’s penalty, Manchester United loanee Dean Henderson made a brilliant save to his low right corner to deny Spurs.
The stands roared with excitement and pushed their players as the final half an hour came. Another Toffalo cross found its way to Williams but the young wing-back caught it wildly and put it wide.
Forest started to show signs of fatigue though, and a minute later a Spurs counter was stopped by Worrall at the expense of a booking. Another followed a couple of minutes later for Scott McKenna as he pulled Kane to stop another counter in its tracks. In the 62nd minute, Son managed to fire a shot through a wall of Forest players, requiring a save from Henderson. Just two minutes later, Kulusevski found the opportunity to shoot after he was left in a one-on-one situation in space, but couldn’t find the target with his weaker foot. Hojbjerg followed with an off-target effort of his own five minutes later.
Cooper decided to change personnel to avoid the effect of fatigue on his team’s chances and keep fighting until the end – Lingard made way for another summer signing, Emmanuel Dennis from relegated Watford.
Three minutes later, another booking was necessary for a Forest player. Lewis O’Brien was punished for pulling Kane to stop another counter-attack, and the stoppage of play saw Perisic and Son make way for Ryan Sessegnon and Richarlison.
Cooper followed with a triple change, bringing on Remo Freuler, Taiwo Awoniyi and Cheickh Kouyate, removing Yates and booked duo of O’Brien and Cook in the process. That series of changes also brought a tactical switch to Cooper’s side, moving them to a back four.
In the aftermath of these changes, Spurs had the chance to finish the game, when Sessegnon went two-on-one with Kane to find but wasn’t able to carve out a pass. The loose ball was picked up by Richarlison though, who found Kane among the disorganised Forest defence and he was able to find the empty goal with a low header, making it 2-0 to the visitors.
The remainder of the game saw Kulusevski subbed out for Yves Bissouma to see out the game, and Kouyate was booked for stepping on Kane’s leg. The frustrations of the Forest players were made clear, when Richarlison was chopped down by Johnson seconds after he juggled the ball in open play, at the expense of a yellow card.
Spurs were able to win the game and keep a clean sheet, reaching a total of 10 points from four games. Conte also showed that the habit of winning when conditions aren’t perfect is slowly settling into his side, which will prove crucial for the season.
Forest would feel that they deserved something out of this game but left frustrated. They are due to travel for their fixture against Manchester City and another extremely challenging 90 minutes await for Cooper’s men.
You can follow Görkem on Twitter.
If you enjoy these posts, please consider subscribing to our Patreon or making a one-off donation. For just €2.99, you can get access to premium videos and training sessions.
No responses yet