Ange Postecoglou reveals one area Spurs have been ‘working hard’ on lately

Tottenham Hotspur registered an impressive win over Qarabag in their Europa League opener last night, and one aspect of the win in particular has made Ange Postecoglou happy as it’s something his side have been working on improving recently.

Set-pieces can make the difference

Many had expected Spurs to secure a simple win over the Azerbaijan champions, but it was far from straightforward on the night, with the Lilywhites down to ten men after just seven minutes due to Radu Dragusin dismissed for a clumsy foul.

That didn’t disrupt Ange Postecoglou‘s plans, though, and Spurs were ahead just five minutes later thanks to Brennan Johnson.

In the second half, Pape Matar Sarr hit his first European goal, picking up a loose ball at the back post from a Dejan Kulusevski corner to double Tottenham’s lead.

Dominic Solanke wrapped up the win with a tap-in with 20 minutes to go, but it is that Sarr goal that pleased Postecoglou when discussing the game in his post-match interview with TNT Sports (via BBC Sport).

On the importance of that second goal and the manner in which it was scored, Postecoglou said: “I felt we needed a second. We worked hard on our set-pieces.”

Defensive set-pieces are improving too

Last season, Tottenham were exploited at set plays with Guglielmo Vicario and his defence getting outmuscled and outmanoeuvred far too often.

That aspect of their game appears to have improved so far this season, with just one goal conceded from set-pieces — Gabriel’s header in the North London derby.

Clearly, Postecoglou and his coaching staff have been working on both sides of the set-piece game, and it’s paying dividends.

This could unlock a new weapon for Spurs

We are scoring plenty of goals under Ange Postecoglou, but we have never really capitalised on how beneficial set-pieces can be for adding to our attacking outlets. If we can master this, we will become a far more dangerous team.

Tottenham were ranked 12th for set-piece goals last season, scoring just 11 all season. Arsenal were top with 20 goals, and it’s not hard to imagine what a difference those extra goals can make throughout a full campaign.

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