Bergy the Bester of Leicester

Football truly is the beautiful game! | Plus, Spurs Women make history of their own.

My sample size is admittedly limited, but in the four years that I've been a committed Tottenham fan, this thrilling 2-3 comeback away win against Leicester easily ranks in my top three favorite Spurs moments. Lucas' hat trick in Amsterdam is obviously #1, and Bergwijn's stoppage-time brace is a very close tie for #2 with Lamela's rabona last season, in terms of how loudly I screamed and how many times I jumped up in down in glee. Very close tie, though obviously, the result was much better in Bergwijn's case. And he literally helped Spurs break a record--for the latest comeback from a losing position in a PL match.

We really needed this win--the team and the fanbase. It's a huge three points in terms of maintaining momentum in the league despite the blip in form in the League Cup, and should provide a big boost in morale before our third fixture against Chelsea in a month. Hopefully the disappointed mood amongst the fans will also be improved now that the team has shown the mentality is still strong, and it's all to play for in the PL. Top 4 is in our hands, thanks to the games in hand we still have yet to fulfill (no pun intended).

Also, it kind of feels good to be someone else's bogey team for a change. Leicester must absolutely hate Spurs by this point! And I do have some pity for them; they put in a strong defensive performance for most of the game, including a couple of superb goal-line clearances. They simply ran out of gas near the end (the Conte fitness advantage paying dividends), and they were shorthanded on the day thanks to injuries and AFCON.

The comeback was so thrilling in part because of how glum things were looking until the 95th minute. Despite being the dominant team for most of the match, we allowed two Leicester goals against the run of play and were facing the prospect of earning zero points from the first of our four postponed fixtures. But you have to create your own luck, so I can’t bring myself to be too mad about how many chances we didn’t convert; the important thing is that we were creating abundant chances, and on a different day, Kane doesn't hit the crossbar and Leicester don't make those goal-line clearances. We recorded our highest xG of the season (highest across the PL so far this season, in fact) on 27 shots, 11 of them on target. Not a bad day's work at all.

The 3-5-2 formation is clearly the best and most natural fit for our current personnel--and will be even more effective when Son returns. Lucas was a little quiet besides his early goal chance and his involvement in Bergwijn's first goal, but he was still getting into the right positions. I was also pleased with the midfield trio of Winks/Højbjerg/Skipp. As Friend-of-the-Newsletter, Scott, pointed out on the latest Tottenham Depot pod, this midfield combination was effective because it utilizes each players' skills to create balance in the midfield. Højbjerg is the enforcer keeping things tidy and cleaning up stray balls, Skipp actively seeks to win new balls, and Winks employs the killer through passes.  Winks was playing far deeper than I would have expected, but knowing that he's a little fresher than Højbjerg on the balance of the season's minutes played, it made sense for PEH to play higher up and have fewer defensive duties. Speaking of the Viking, he made a good argument for why he continues to keep his spot in the starting lineup despite a recent downturn in form--the only player who had a better final three minutes of the match than Bergwijn was Højbjerg.

Elsewhere in the lineup, Reguilón was looking rejuvenated after his short time out of the squad and was unlucky not to register a goal or assist on the night. The backline wasn't necessarily bad, with none of the players making any super glaring individual errors (Sánchez and Davies were pretty good overall, and congrats to Ben on his 250th appearance!); it was more of a systemic breakdown of the defense on the two Leicester goals. The absence of Eric Dier's leadership and organization is strongly felt in moments like those when he isn't playing.

Conte came through with a masterclass of subs. Emerson had been ineffective and needed to be replaced at halftime, so kudos to Conte for the bold choice. Doherty had probably his best game in a Spurs shirt (I feel like I may have stated that in a previous issue, but for real this time!), and had an immediate impact on the match. He got into some surprisingly timely positions to score or assist in the box. In fact, he and Winks both registered their first PL assists of the season. Lo Celso was the one sub who didn't impress, but at least Winks got some rest. And Bergwijn worked very well in a two-man forward line alongside Kane.

And on that note, it is time for something long overdue:  an apology to Harry Kane. After the transfer saga in the summer and his lackluster start to the season, I had doubted that he would ever be fully recommitted to Tottenham. But I shouldn't have worried. His performance in the Leicester match, and his joyful reaction to Bergwijn's game-winning goal, showed that Spurs are still his club and his priority. I loved hearing his passionate praise for Bergwijn after the match, calling out his hard work and acknowledging the struggles Bergy has had this season so he didn’t have to himself. Well done, Harry.

Historic cup success for Spurs Women

While the Women's Conti Cup quarter-final against Liverpool wasn't broadcast, we can still celebrate the big result. A 1-0 win put Spurs into the semi-final of the cup for the first time in the club's history. It was Rachel Williams delivering the clutch goal once again, after some excellent work from Jess Naz and Rosella Ayane. Rehanne was also able to do some squad rotation, which is helpful for the weekend fixture. One of the less frequent starters was Esther Morgan, who had a strong performance on both ends of the pitch. I really hope we get to see her featuring more in the WSL.

Since the other three advancing teams were Man City, Man United, and Chelsea, it was never going to be a "favorable" draw for the semi-final no matter what. But as it happens, Spurs have been drawn away to Man City to be played on either the 2nd or 3rd of February. If that fixture isn't broadcast... we riot.

In other Spurs Women news, Tang Jiali has joined up with the China PR team for the Women's Asian Cup, and she made a sub appearance in their first match, logging over ten minutes in a 4-0 win over Chinese Taipei. A lot of the WAC matches are at ungodly hours for those of us in the states (like Australia's first match), but South Korea are playing Vietnam at 8 am CT tomorrow. Cho So-hyun is a likely starter, so try to catch the match and support her if you can!

Return of the Skipper

Finally, the news we were all waiting for: Hugo Lloris has extended his contract through 2024! This is a big relief. The search for his eventual replacement goes on, since Gollini has not proven himself up to the task, and it helps that we'll now have two years to get it sorted out rather than just six months. Now please, let's get this man a trophy with Tottenham.

Next up on the calendar

Spurs Women have the early kickoff on Sunday, an away match against Man United. Our opponents had a tough contest against Arsenal midweek in the cup (knocking Arsenal out, cheers Man U!), having to bring on Alessia Russo as a substitute to grab the sole goal of the match. I'm encouraged by the increased number of chances we've created in recent games, but let's hope the likes of Williams, Naz, and Ayane (the likeliest starters) have their shooting boots on for this crucial top-3 battle.

The Men's team will be taking on Chelsea... again... at Stamford Bridge... again. Sigh. Since it doesn't sound like Dier will be available until after the international break (same with Son and Romero), we'll just have to make do with the makeshift defense again. I wouldn't mind Bergwijn getting the start over Lucas so the latter can get some rest, because after all, you have to go with the hot hand. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but Doherty has earned another chance at right wing-back. I really hope we can continue Conte's unbeaten PL streak. Even a draw would be a good result; this is not one of the remaining matches I consider a "must-win" for the top 4 push. But hey, if we learned one thing from that wild end to the Leicester match, it's that you can always believe.

COYS