Jurgen Klinsmann pointed to Tottenham Hotspur’s set-piece defense problem.
Tottenham beat Coventry City (second division) 2-1 in the third round of the 2024-25 English Football League Cup (EFL Cup) at the Coventry Building Society Arena in Coventry, England, at 4 a.m. on the 19th (Korea time).
On this day, Tottenham launched a 4-3-3 formation. Werner, Solanke, and Odover were deployed to the front line, while Veribal, Bentancur and Sar played as midfielders. Udo-gi, Davis, Draguchin and Gray worked together for the four backs, and Foster kept the goal. Coventry countered with Bassett, Ascente, Wright, and Thomas.
Tottenham, which has recently won two consecutive league titles, has started to change its mood through the League Cup. Tottenham won a landslide 4-0 victory over Everton in late August, but lost to Newcastle United and Arsenal in succession. Although the team was mired in losing streak, its opponent Coventry was able to gain momentum because he was a member of the English Championship.
However, Tottenham didn’t make much of an impression. Rather, the atmosphere remained chaotic, with Odobert getting injured early in the first half. As the score continued with 0-0, Tottenham sent in Son Heung-min and Medicine at the 17th minute of the second half. Rather, Coventry scored the first goal. Asante pushed a ground ball cross from the left side by Bassett at the 18th minute of the second half.
Fortunately, the team won the match. Spence, who did not miss Kulusevski’s advance pass, shook the net in the 43rd minute of the second half. And even turned the tables. Johnson, who received Bentancourt’s penetration pass at the 1st minute of extra time in the second half, scored with a clean finish.
The team won, but the victory was not neat. Although the team had possession of the ball throughout the match, it failed to score a point. Rather, it almost lost by conceding a goal. Tottenham has been showing disappointing performance following the “North London derby” against Arsenal over the weekend.
After the Coventry match, Klinsmann left a comment on Tottenham’s performance. Klinsmann was replaced as the head coach of the South Korean national soccer team a year after the Asian Cup failure in January. The Tottenham legend is a panelist for the global media “ESPN.”
“Tottenham certainly has some areas to revise,” Klinsmann said. “Since last season, there have been problems with set-piece defense, especially corner kicks. It may have been because of players’ attitude, not because of discussions on regional defense or sweatshirt marking. Personally, I think the goalkeeper should run out faster. And players should also check to see if they are keeping the right position before the cross comes up.”
When asked about set pieces after the defeat at Arsenal, Coach Enze Postecoglou said, “We handled set pieces well in most cases. However, if we make a mistake in a moment, we have to pay for it. Arsenal is clearly a threat in set pieces. The ball was delivered accurately, and Magalangouis is a very threatening player in that situation.”안전놀이터
“I don’t know why, but people don’t think I care about set pieces. It’s been mentioned for a long time. But we’re always trying,” he added.