Grind out wins? That’s not my style, says defiant Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou
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Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min celebrates scoring their fourth goal with Radu Dragusin and Yves Bissouma in the 4-3 League Cup win over Manchester United.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON – Tottenham Hotspur almost threw away their League Cup semi-final berth in bizarre fashion against Manchester United on Dec 19, but manager Ange Postecoglou bristled at suggestions he should tone down his side’s entertaining, attacking style.
Leading 3-0 at home after 54 minutes, the tie should have been done and dusted.
Yet Spurs contrived to gift United two goals – both the result of horrible mistakes by goalkeeper Fraser Forster – and breathed a huge sigh of relief as they edged out the Red Devils with a 4-3 victory. Dominic Solanke was on target twice, Dejan Kulusevski scored once and Son Heung-min netted directly from a corner.
The visitors fought back via Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo to cut the deficit to 3-2, before Son made it 4-2 and Jonny Evans scored a third goal for United.
For a while it looked as though Tottenham could repeat what happened in their last home game against Chelsea, when they led 2-0 but ended up collapsing to a 4-3 loss.
Had that happened, the pressure would have piled up on Postecoglou, who steadfastly sticks to his attacking principles whatever the circumstances.
He appeared ready for the line of questioning when interviewed after the match by Sky Sports.
“I like the whole game. Are you not entertained? I know the studio is probably having a meltdown over my lack of tactics,” Postecoglou quipped.
“But I really liked how we played tonight, obviously those moments tainted it a bit and it doesn’t help our consistency, but the mentality of the boys... I love it.”
Tottenham are arguably the most entertaining team in the Premier League, scoring 36 goals in 16 games. But their risk-taking style has worn down the patience of fans.
Even so, Postecoglou reiterated he will not change his approach.
“I love football and love watching teams that go out there to entertain,” he added. “We’re not going out there to try and grind out 1-0 victories. From the context of how we play as a team, there’s nothing we need to change.”
Tottenham will face Liverpool in the two-legged semi-finals, with Arsenal taking on Newcastle United.
Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim, meanwhile, admitted Spurs deserved to win but gave credit to his side.
“We showed that (fight) in the past games also when we were losing in difficult moments,” he said.
“We disconnect in the beginning of the second half (when we conceded)... And then we return, I think we did a great job.
“I think if you look at the whole game, we were the best team but they were more clinical.”
In the Europa Conference League, teenage striker Marc Guiu scored a hat-trick as Chelsea thrashed Shamrock Rovers 5-1, advancing to the last 16 with maximum points. REUTERS, AFP
