1. Mauricio Pochettino still struggles to overturn game situations despite the win
Throughout his managerial career in the Premier League, Pochettino had never won a game when his side trailed in the first-half prior to this one. This game showed why. When Aston Villa took the lead, Spurs struggled to consistently threaten their hosts.
Even when Christian Benteke got sent-off, they still barely created chances and the likes of Roberto Soldado were anonymous. Pochettino was relieved, of course, that Harry Kane scored a winning free-kick but he needs to look at his tactics, particularly when teams defend deep in numbers.
The Lilywhites toiled when Liverpool took the lead and dropped back, Newcastle also comfortably shut up shop once they were in front at White Hart Lane and Aston Villa almost succeeded despite playing with a man down.
2. Benteke needs to root-out lapses in concentration
Aston Villa were 1-0 in front against Chelsea when Benteke got sent-off and the Blues went on to win the game 1-2 last season. Against Spurs, the Belgian similarly lost his concentration and got sent-off when his side were leading 1-0 so they ended up with a 1-2 defeat.
In this game, Benteke was actually part of an altercation that involved Spurs players like Ryan Mason and Soldado as well. In the heat of the moment, the striker raised his hand and gave the officials a decision to make.
He may feel hard done by and Paul Lambert may be justified in claiming that Benteke was actually provoked, but the centre forward should have concentrated on maintaining his side’s 1-0 lead. That red card not only cost them the game but he will have to miss games against West Ham United, Southampton and Burnley as well.
3. Kane’s form and energy is just too good to ignore
Apart from Mason, Kane is the only player who embraces the Pochettino way of playing with hunger and desire in the current Spurs’ squad. The young forward also took his tally to nine goals in just 13 games and no other player is close to that goal return in the club this season.
Pochettino has been reluctant to start Kane in the league and even when he turned to a 4-4-2 formation in this game, the Argentine opted for Adebayor and Soldado as his strike partnership. While Soldado barely influenced the game, Kane came off the bench brimming with confidence and he deserved his goal.
The Spurs boss may defend Adebayor’s goal return as the forward frequently helps the team by working on the flanks to compensate for the inward movement of their attacking midfielders but Kane should be part of any front-two.
4. Results will come for the Villans
Aston Villa may be enduring their worst run in decades after six consecutive defeats but their recent performance should encourage them. While their quality in the final-third let them down when they lost 2-0 at Queens Park Rangers, they were still impressive in other departments in that game.
In this game they clearly showed improvements in the offensive third; most of their crosses found Benteke and the Belgian forward was much sharper with his movement. They understandably unravelled after Benteke was sent-off as he was the focal point of their plan but if they work on a few problems then they should manage better results in upcoming games.
5. Spurs need more organisation at the back
The goals Spurs have conceded from Sammy Ameobi, Ayoze Perez and Andreas Weimann in their last two games have been very similar; they all csme from a quick player exploiting the space their full-backs leave out wide in quick transitional play.
They could have conceded more in similar fashion as Etienne Capoue and the two central defenders he protects seem unsure of who should be covering where in those situations. They have big lads at the back with a lot of experience so they should deal with this problem with more communication.
