After suffering a rather baffling 2-1 defeat at the hands of Ipswich, perhaps this international break came at exactly the right time for Ange Postecoglou‘s Tottenham side.
This has been a topsy-turvy campaign, to say the least, with the Aussie battling against all sorts of demons on the domestic and continental stage.
It was classic Spurs, really. They had enjoyed a thrilling week where they beat Manchester City and Aston Villa only to lose their next two, against Galatasaray in the Europa League and then to relegation-threatened Ipswich just a few days later.
Postecoglou will have had plenty of time to get things right over the last week and a half, therefore, but it doesn’t get much easier with Manchester City to come on Saturday evening. Fortunately, some of his star players enjoyed a cracking time of it with their international sides.
Spurs’ star players during the international break
This wasn’t the busiest of breaks for those who don Spurs colours with plenty of stars actually not called up. Yet, those who did get the call-up certainly caught the eye.
Club captain Heung-min Son scored twice for South Korea, once against Kuwait and another against Palestine.
There was also good fortune for Dejan Kulusevski who has only gone from strength to strength this season. He featured in Sweden’s 2-1 win over Slovakia last week before truly dazzling against Azerbaijan in a 6-0 win for the Swedes on Tuesday evening.
Man in demand Viktor Gyokeres helped himself to four goals while the other two came from the boot of Kulusevski who enjoyed an excellent night for his country.
Seemingly rejuvenated by playing in a more central role, he flourished as a no.10 behind the aforementioned Gyokeres and Newcastle striker Alexander Isak.
Not only did Kulusevski score twice but he supplied an assist and managed a total of six shots on the night, also boasting 113 touches, the most of anyone by a margin of 30.
Kulusevski vs Azerbaijan | |
|---|---|
Minutes played | 90 |
Touches | 113 |
Goals | 2 |
Assists | 1 |
Passes completed | 56/68 (82%) |
Dribbles completed | 4/4 |
Key passes | 8 |
Fouls won | 4 |
Duels won | 9 |
Stats via Sofascore | |
That said, he wasn’t the only Spurs star to catch the eye over the last few days. Wales’ Brennan Johnson also delivered an impressive performance on Tuesday night.
Brennan Johnson’s performance in numbers
This has been a real breakthrough campaign for Johnson so far, notably scoring seven goals for Spurs with six of them memorably coming in six consecutive matches.
Not just a livewire at club level, the former Nottingham Forest winger has also shone on the international stage, scoring for Wales against Iceland during October’s international break.
He was in fine form again in the latest set of fixtures, scoring for Craig Bellamy’s side against the Icelandics again on Tuesday during a 4-1 victory. Not just content with finding the net, Johnson also registered an assist for a goal scored by Liam Cullen.
It was a phenomenal display from the 23-year-old who was awarded a 9/10 match rating courtesy of Sofascore and his overall stats summed up why.
Johnson vs Iceland | |
|---|---|
Minutes played | 89 |
Goals | 1 |
Assists | 1 |
Touches | 49 |
Accurate passes | 24/27 (89%) |
Key passes | 2 |
Accurate crosses | 1/3 |
Shots on target | 2 |
Successful dribbles | 2/2 |
Duels won | 8/9 |
Fouls won | 3 |
Tackles | 3 |
Stats via Sofascore. | |
During the contest, Johnson impressively completed 89% of his passes and created two chances. Completing 100% of his dribbles and winning eight of his nine duels, the Icelandic defence never stood a chance of containing him.
No player on the pitch won more ground duels while no player in the Welsh attack left the field boasting more touches of the ball (49).
Hopefully, Postecoglou will get a similar tune out of the wide man against City this forthcoming weekend.
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