Tottenham Hotspur were obliterated by Bayern Munich on Tuesday night.
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Moussa Sissoko has been quoted by ESPN as saying that Spurs players get tired too quickly when playing Mauricio Pochettino’s diamond system.
Pochettino had mostly played a 4-2-3-1 or 3-4-2-1 in his first few seasons at Tottenham, but made a switch last season to play more of a diamond system.
That usually featured a midfield of Harry Winks, Moussa Sissoko and Christian Eriksen, with Dele Alli behind a front two of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min or Lucas Moura.
That has continued into this season, with new signing Tanguy Ndombele taking one of the midfield roles, then Alli or Eriksen taking the number 10 spot; it was Alli who got the nod against Bayern Munich on Tuesday night.
It didn’t work as Bayern cut through Spurs repeatedly, smashing Pochettino’s side 7-2 in North London, leaving Tottenham with plenty to think about ahead of this weekend’s trip to face Brighton and Hove Albion.
Pochettino may tinker with his tactics for the trip to the South Coast, especially after one of his own players spoke out about the diamond system.
Midfielder Sissoko – who signed a new deal with the club last week – has admitted that Tottenham get too tired too quickly playing that way, suggesting he doesn’t really like playing the diamond system.
“We get tired too quickly physically when we play with a diamond midfield,” said Sissoko,
There is so much emphasis placed on the two outer central midfielders – Sissoko and Ndombele against Bayern – to not only shuttle back and forth to aid defence and attack, but also to get out wide and help full backs.
That takes its toll on players physically, and we may now see Pochettino switch up his tactics for the trip to Brighton this weekend after Sissoko’s comments.
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