Former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has now opened up on Tottenham’s approach under Ange Postecoglou.
The North London club have impressed with their high-intensity attacking football this season, but Fabregas feels that their brave approach can backfire as well. As has already been the case a few times this season, Tottenham have looked vulnerable defensively because of the risks they take during the attacking phase of play.
Fabregas has revealed that in the current system, Tottenham are not able to control games because they are mostly reacting to situations in attack and defence. In addition to that, he believes that there has to be a high synergy between the players because they will have to act according to the situation and their teammates will have to back them wholeheartedly.
The 36-year-old told Planet Premier League Podcast (via The Metro): “It is brave and you need to trust your players a lot.”
“But for me, you are not under control because you are basically reacting, you are not proactive. You are reacting to their movements, you are reacting to whatever the striker wants to do.
“If he comes deep, I come with him. If he goes attacking the space, I go with him. I’m not a big fan of this because as I said, you are not in control of the situation. He’s dictating the play for you.
“I like to dictate my play and I like to take the defence. If the ball is covered, then I can press. If the ball is uncovered then my defenders need to drop a little bit.”
The risk versus rewards approach has worked well for Tottenham quite often this season and they find themselves fifth in the league table. It will be interesting to see if they can return to the UEFA Champions League at the end of the season.
The attacking approach has certainly impressed the Tottenham fans and they seem to be enjoying the exciting brand of football under the Australian manager. The players are in good spirits as well and Tottenham will hope that they can cut out the defensive vulnerabilities to a certain extent and still continue to excite with their attacking approach.
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