Tottenham Hotspur picked up a much-needed win on Sunday afternoon, beating Sheffield United 3-1 at Bramall Lane.
Spurs went into the game with just one win in their prior six Premier League games, and Jose Mourinho needed to get his side back on track.
Serge Aurier, Harry Kane and Tanguy Ndombele were all on the scoresheet in a convincing Spurs win, with Jose Mourinho’s bold formation change paying dividends.
Mourinho moved from his usual 4-2-3-1 system to more of a 3-4-2-1 system, with Son Heung-min and Steven Bergwijn operating either side of Kane.
It seemed to work pretty well, with Joe Rodon and Ben Davies flanking Eric Dier in a well-oiled defence, but it’s the wing back roles that really worked well.
Sergio Reguilon and Serge Aurier love to go forward, and deploying them both in a back four means Spurs sometimes aren’t able to get the best out of them – even if they have both shown improvements defensively under Mourinho.
By playing as wing backs, the pair can start attacks higher up the pitch and be given more freedom going forward, knowing they have Rodon and Davies behind them.
Aurier picked up a goal, whilst Reguilon recorded three successful dribbles – his highest tally of the season – with both players no doubt proud of their attacking exploits.
Few could blame the duo if they now hope Mourinho sticks with this system. Mourinho isn’t the most expansive coach of all time, but this system may just allow Reguilon and Aurier to bomb forward as they so wish.
If Mourinho wants to play three midfielders, he still can by switching to a 3-5-2, but the 3-4-2-1 seemed to work well – and Mourinho should certainly consider sticking with it moving forward.
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