da poker： After ten matches, Tottenham Hotspur sit top of the Premier League table and whilst it is still early days, no one could have predicted the immense form Jose Mourinho’s side find themselves in.
da pinnacle： And for the first time in what seems like an eternity, Spurs will go into the north London derby this weekend super-confident of picking up a victory.
They have more than shown that they can mix it with the elite this term, thrashing Manchester United 6-1, defeating Pep Guardiola’s City 2-0 and drawing 0-0 to a scary-looking Chelsea attack.
Although, despite the positivity around picking up a point at Stamford Bridge, there was a worrying sign of what could come in the near future.
Spurs were without arguably their best defender, Toby Alderweireld, after the Belgian suffered a muscle injury last week. It did not stop them from keeping a fourth clean sheet in five matches, but it may have exposed their biggest weakness.
After the match, Mourinho lambasted the 31-year-old’s usually defensive partner, Eric Dier. He told reporters, via Football.London: “Dier made more mistakes than him [Rodon], especially in ball possession.”
This certainly appears to be the case too as the England colossus lost possession 12 times, made just four of 12 long-balls (33%) and failed to record a single tackle, interception or block, as per SofaScore.
It is no surprise that Spurs’ defensive record improved the second that Aldweireld was utilised more. It took until the end of October for Mourinho’s men to claim their first clean sheet, in what was only the Belgian’s third start of the season.
Without Alderweireld alongside him, the €30m-rated (£27m) Dier has struggled, failing to record above a 6.9 rating when paired with Davinson Sanchez or Joe Rodon, via WhoScored.
Ex-Spurs legend Gary Mabbutt has called upon the 26-year-old to become “the general” in the absence of his teammate, though the signs aren’t really positive in the chances of that happening.
Another former Lilywhites man, Jermaine Jenas, waxed lyrical about Dier following the City triumph, calling him “sensational.”
In reality, this blow to Alderweireld could be a double sucker-punch as Dier is yet to truly standout with the long-serving giant next to him. Perhaps the £85k-per-week star has been masked by the man next to him, and that should have Mourinho worried tenfold.
AND in other news, Exclusive: Gary Mabbutt makes bold Spurs Premier League claim…