Here’s a very tired Son-Heung min
“[Exhales demonstratively] It was a really difficult game - they do an unbelievable job and work so hard. We created a lot of chances and got a clean sheet, it’s a fantastic start to the new year. I couldn’t wait [to score his 100th goal for Spurs] and I’m very happy and very grateful for my team-mates who supported me early on. I needed a lot of help for this big achievement and I’m really proud. But the most important thing is that we got the clean sheet here and the three goals.
“Harry and I have been working together a long time so we understand each other really well. I’m really sad that I couldn’t given an assist today for H. The ball he played was perfect for me. Sometimes it’s telepathy, sometimes we work on it.”
It was an easy win for Spurs, who were a model of efficiency in transition and could have scored six or seven. Harry Kane’s debatable penalty gave them the lead, Son scored a lovely goal on the stroke of half-time - his 100th for Spurs - and Toby Alderweireld headed the third.
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Full time: Spurs 3-0 Leeds
Peep peep! Spurs jump from seventh to third in the great game of Snakes and Ladders that is the 2020-21 Premier League season.
90+2 min: Doherty sent off! Matt Doherty gets a second yellow for a late tackle on Pablo Hernandez, and Spurs are down to 10 men. It was a pretty straightforward decision.
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90+1 min “The Dutch Total Football team and snide fouls in the same post - wash your mouth out, or at least clean your fingers!” says Richard Hirst.
Those boys knew how to look after themselves, Neeskens in particular. There was that great David Lacey line, in 1978 I think, about the Dutch reminding us that they invented the clog.
90 min “VAR is the sporting equivalent of Trump,” says Mary Waltz. “No matter how much you do not want to discuss Trump ever again his outrageous actions and words force you back on discussing him. VAR is the same. it ruins everything good in this world.”
So who, or what, is our Joe Biden? Is it Peter Walton?
89 min Phillips is booked for a foul on Vinicius. That means he’s suspended for Leeds’ next game, the FA Cup tie at Crawley. It’s almost as if he did it deliberately!
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88 min “Ndombele is Spurs’ most talented player,” says Cian O’Mahony. “Tough love - or the lack of it - has nothing to do with it.”
He was their most talented player last season, too, and he was crap. I think it’s reasonable to draw a connection, but it’s also reasonable to think he was always going to come good. I feel better already.
87 min Harry Kane has made one and scored one, and now he’s done one. Carlos Vinicius replaces him.
85 min Hojbjerg is booked, because the referee was running out of time to fulfil his contractual obligation. (And for a foul on Pablo Hernandez.)
84 min “Just saw the quiz answer from earlier,” says Peter McHugh. “I worked with a Spurs fan (as I am myself) who always called Vinny Samways, Sammy Heighway. His malapropisms were legendary.”
I’d love to know what he made of Steffen Freund. “Steffen, could I have your autograph? And have you got half an hour to talk about my sexual desire for my mother?”
83 min Bamford, 12 yards out, heads straight at Lloris from Raphinha’s cross. Not much of a chance.
83 min Phillips blocked Hojbjerg’s shot, though it was going wide anyway.
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80 min Raphinha zips outside Doherty and drives a speculative cross-shot that is comfortably saved by the falling Lloris.
79 min Nothing much happening. Leeds are still bouncing around like Tigger; Spurs are still working very hard to keep Hugo Lloris’s sheet clean.
78 min “It’s not quite the same as using by not using, but one of my abiding memories is seeing the Dutch ‘total football’ team of the 70s playing England at Wembley,” says Richard Hirst. “On the TV you saw the pass played and maybe one other option. Live you saw the multiple options available as the team flowed forwards and flowed backwards - breathtaking.”
We’re doing a Joy of Six on that soon – assists without touching the ball. Off-the-ball runs, dummies, snide fouls at set pieces. If you’ve got any nominations, please send them in. No1 is Marco van Basten, that’s all I’m giving you.
77 min Another Spurs change: Lucas Moura replaces Tanguy Ndombele, who had a 7/10 kind of day. He’s become a very important player for Spurs, which proves Jose Mourinho’s tough love can work.
77 min “The penalty chat has gone way off topic - whether it’s in the box is a fair question (personally I think it is - contact was still being made when they were on the line and in this case advantage should go to the attacker) but the penalty was given live, as it would have been 10 years ago or 20 years ago,” says Phil Beattie. “The fact that it was a foul has nothing to do with VAR whatsoever...”
Yes but I’d argue VAR has increased the number of ‘live’ decisions being given, in the same way DRS changed, for example, the number of LBW decisions given on the field. All I know is that beauty is ephemeral. Oh and that penalties are up by about 100 per cent (I think), and that can’t be right.
76 min Moussa Sissoko replaces Harry Winks.
74 min Pablo Hernandez, who has etc, has another medium-range shot deflected behind for a corner. Leeds are hilarious; they are playing as if world peace depends on their scoring a goal this afternoon.
73 min Pablo Hernandez, who has been really good since coming on, has a medium-range shot deflected behind for a corner.
73 min “Hi Rob,” says Lalith Adithyan. “How good has Hojbjerg been for Spurs this season. He has been a defensive rock for them this season and spurs have been crying out for a player like him. He has also made some decent runs into the box in this game.”
I must admit, I elevated my nose at precisely 45 degrees when they signed him, but he’s been extremely good.
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73 min Spurs break from the corner and Kane tries to score from inside his own half. It was a decent strike, which had Meslier backpedalling desperately, but it just cleared the crossbar. Meslier probably had it covered in the end.
72 min Another corner for Leeds, won by Shackleton this time. It’s lovely to watch, though we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that Spurs are 3-0 up and could have scored 10. I suppose it was always going to be like this, certainly once Spurs scored the first goal.
69 min The dynamic Poveda-Ocampo wins a corner for Leeds, who continue to ooze irrepressibility. Phillips’ corner is headed away.
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67 min “The problem with VAR regarding penalties is that it only shows ‘contact’ but not whether this is enough to impair another player,” says Foderoy78. “Contact is allowed when shielding a ball or during tackling so it’s hard to use it as the sole perpetrator of a pen. The only person who knows if it’s was enough contact is the ‘fouled’ player. When running at full flight it sometimes only needs the slightest touch to be tripped but every tackle is different.”
Yes, agreed. Another problem is that penalties are never given unless a player goes down. It’s all a bit of a mess, and the traditional remedy – the increased use of common sense – isn’t compatible with VAR. I think that in time (I’m talking 10/20 years), there will be two tiers of fouls in the penalty area. I don’t love that idea but it’s better than the current situation.
66 min Meslier makes another good save, pushing Kane’s shot round the near post. Bergwijn played Kane in; the angle was tight so he slapped it towards the near post and hoped for the best. Meslier was well positioned and pushed it behind for a corner.
66 min A third Leeds change: Pablo Hernandez replaces Rodrigo.
65 min Matt Doherty is booked for a fresh-air swipe in the direction of Luke Ayling.
64 min Alioski is replaced by Jamie Shackleton. He goes to right back, Stuart Dallas to left back.
63 min Spurs look like they might score every time they win the ball back. Who’d be an xG algorithm?
62 min: Great goalkeeping! Meslier makes a brilliant point-blank save from Bergwijn, who took Son’s pass on the run, moved away from Alioski and blootered a shot towards goal.
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62 min “One of the best things about Maxi Rodriguez’s goal,” says Robert Smithson, “is Carlos Bilardo yelling “arco!” (go for goal!) just before he hit it.”
61 min A Leeds change: Ian Poveda-Ocampo replaces Jack Harrison.
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60 min Leeds are playing with their usual optimism, despite the scoreline. Spoiler alert: this doesn’t end 3-0.
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59 min “Happy new year Rob,” says Guy Hornsby. “After the last few games I bailed on watching this game after 18 minutes of Spurs saying ‘come on then Bielsa’. The 2020-grade pessimist in me was expecting a 1-1 draw after 1 shot on target and a 92nd minute equaliser, so chose a walk with the little one. She’s blissfully unaware of how jinxes work (yet) but I may just do that every time in future. Perhaps this is a new dawn. Probably not.”
There are no new dawns, only new years. Now pass me my kombucha.
57 min Son is too unselfish for his own good. He breaks into the area from the left, eschews the obvious shot and instead tries a square ball to the unmarked Hojbjerg that is blocked.
57 min Leeds’ last five games: 5-2, 2-6, 1-0, 5-0, 0-3. God bless them.
56 min “All these debates about penalties would be irrelevant,” says Richard Hirst, “if all teams were as sporting as Fulham and had such incompetent penalty takers.”
Look, man, that’s a good email.
55 min Son’s shot is blocked by a topknot, Phillips I think.
55 min Winks is booked for kicking the ball away.
54 min “Personally I think it’s more about what constitutes a foul,” says Nicholas of my proposed Ifab penalty review. “Every description of a foul revolves around how a player makes a tackle or challenge. How an opponent tries to win a free kick or penalty does not change the nature of the tackle or challenge. His challenge for the ball has not become careless - which is the minimum requirement - upon the action of the opponent. The opponent being “clever” has not in any way, changed the way someone tackled. If the challenge for the ball was legitimate by any usual definition (not a lunge, no studs showing, no high foot etc) how can it become careless according to the action of the opponent?”
You could argue it is careless for not taking into account the potential movement of the opponent before you get the ball. As with most basic rules, we’ve all lost our bearings since the VAR magnifying glass came out. It’s surely time for us all to stop, collaborate and listen.
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53 min Spurs are creating chances at will. Kane twists neatly away from Ayling on the left edge of the area and smashes a rising shot into the side netting.
Son’s excellent outswinging corner from the right was met by Alderweireld, who flicked a header that went through Meslier and into the net. Meslier had started to come from the cross, which meant he was moving towards his own goal as he tried to make the save. He pushed the ball away when he was in his own net, but technology confirmed it had just crossed the line.
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GOAL! Spurs 3-0 Leeds (Alderweireld 50)
The respite was brief for Leeds.
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50 min Ndombele hits a vicious shot from 15 yards that is really well saved by the falling Meslier. He couldn’t hold it but managed to shovel it behind for a corner.
48 min “Wondering if the one of the main difference between the two teams is the difference in quality between Kane and Bamford,” says Paul Fitzgerald. “Both teams will get decent chances to score but after watching Bamford against Man Utd recently, I don’t know if he has that killer instinct against top sides.”
Fair point. Imagine Leeds with Harry Kane! In fact, Spurs should loan him to Leeds for the rest of the season in the interests of the nation’s morale.
47 min “A soft pen can still be a clear pen,” says Phil Beattie. “I agree with your general sentiment on pens, but think you’re picking the wrong example. The challenge on Bergwijn is a silly challenge to make but it’s a clear foul and always would have been seen as a foul. He’s entitled to let the ball run across his body, and Paul Johnson’s accusation of cheating is frankly a little ridiculous.”
I agree that it was a foul, albeit just outside the area IMEHO. I don’t think Bergwijn cheated but he did know what he was doing. That’s his right, and defenders need to be much less impetuous in a VAR world, but all these penalties don’t sit comfortably at all.
46 min Peep peep! Spurs begin the second half.
“Gary Naylor is, of course, correct about Bale,” says Matt Dony. “He’s even got the regulation Leeds Topknot.”
Pop quiz “Vinny Samways,” says Conor Clarke, simply and correctly.
The more you see that Spurs penalty, the dodgier it looks. The contact looks fractionally outside the area, and you could also argue that Bergwijn made the foul by stepping across Alioski. I think it was a foul, in truth, but I don’t think it was in the penalty area.
“Barry Davies would love this Leeds side,” says Gary Naylor. “There’s a ‘uses him by not using him’ in every attack.”
Quiz question (no cheating; it’s 2021 and we’re going to do this life properly): who was used by not being used in the Barry Davies commentary mentioned by Gary?
Half-time reading
Half time: Spurs 2-0 Leeds
Peep peep! Spurs have done a fairly predictable number on Leeds. They had less than 40 per cent of the ball but looked very dangerous on the break, particularly after Harry Kane’s soft penalty gave them the lead. Kane made the second for his football friend Son, a beautiful goal just before half-time that leaves Leeds with plenty to do.
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45+2 min “Another soft penalty,” says Paul Johnson. “Just manoeuvre trailing leg into path of defender, wait for slight touch, fall over and penalty ‘won’. ‘Winning’ a penalty and ‘entitled to go down’ should be expunged from dictionary. If you’ve ‘won’ a penalty, you’ve cheated.”
I think it’s slightly subtler than that, but essentially I agree with you. Now that VAR is here to stay, I think Ifab need an urgent review of what constitutes a penalty.
45+1 min Kane plays a good pass into the area for Son, who is unusually indecisive and loses the ball. That was another chance. This could easily be 5-3 to Spurs, in a game that Leeds have dominated.
45 min Spurs could have had four or five in this half. Ndombele’s cross on the turn is intercepted by Ayling. The ball runs towards Davies, who spanks a first-time shot over the bar from a tight angle.
Hojbjerg won a loose ball 40 yards from goal and gave it to his superior, Harold Kane. He moved away from Struijk, down the right wing, and curled a delicious ball around the defence towards the near post. Son got away from Dallas, waited for the ball to bounce and swept it deftly past Meslier at the near post. That’s a lovely goal, Son’s 100th for Spurs.
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GOAL! Spurs 2-0 Leeds (Son 43)
Leeds have been mugged, and we all saw it coming.
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43 min Bamford shoots straight at Lloris from the edge of the area. That was a decent chance.
41 min Harrison wanders infield, receives a square pass from Klich on the edge of the D and whips an excellent shot just over the bar.
40 min Raphinha’s cross is headed away to Alioski on the edge of the area. His volley goes out for a throw-in.
39 min “How many world-class strikers of Kane’s quality would agree to fall back and become more of a feeder to Son and the other Spurs attackers?” says Mary Waltz. “Kane’s self-sacrificing buy-in to Jose’s tactics is admirable to say the least.”
Whatever happened to Gary Cooper? He’s right there, up top for Spurs.
38 min Alioski’s low cross towards the near post finds Bamford, whose first-time poke is blocked by Dier. Bamford’s movement in front of Dier was excellent but he didn’t connect with the shot as well as he would have liked.
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37 min Kane and Son are both down. Kane is holding his right knee, which is a particular concern; he landed awkwardly after a struggle for possession with Ayling. Both are going to continue for now.
35 min: Bergwijn misses an excellent chance! A poor header from Raphinha went to Davies on the left wing. He lost the recovering Raphinha and picked out Bergwijn with a good low cross. Bergwijn turned beautifully but then spanked his shot into orbit from 10 yards.
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35 min More good play from Leeds. Raphinha’s pass infield is flicked behind his standing leg by Klich on the edge of the area. Rodrigo runs onto it but slices a tame shot through to Lloris with the outside of the right foot.
34 min “Bergwijn creates the contract by jumping into Alioski,” says Drew Lundgren.
In VAR football, almost any contact - however it comes about - is a penalty. It’s a mess.
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33 min Klich pokes a short pass towards Rodrigo on the edge of the area. He lets it run through his legs towards Bamford, and Davies comes across to make a vital tackle.
32 min Almost a second goal for Spurs. Alderweireld, still up from an earlier set piece, has a shot blocked. Kane, on the half turn, curls the rebound well wide of the far post. That was a surprisingly tame effort.
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GOAL! Spurs 1-0 Leeds (Kane 29 pen)
Kane puts the penalty straight down the middle. That’s his 205th goal for Tottenham!
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Penalty given!
VAR check It’s a soft penalty but I doubt it will be overturned.
27 min: PENALTY TO SPURS! Alioski has been penalised for a clumsy challenge on Bergwijn. It came from a loose pass out by the keeper Meslier, which was intercepted by Winks and fed forward to Bergwijn. Alioski made a needless challenge from the wrong side, right on the edge of the area, and Bergwijn went over.
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26 min At the other end Phillips plays in the overlapping Dallas, whose dangerous cross is kicked away at the near post by Hojbjerg. Good defending.
25 min Kane wriggles away from Klich and Dallas in the area before cutting the ball back sharply towards the near post. Alioski heads it clear.
It’s still 0-0 in the Old Firm derby - but Celtic are battering the leaders Rangers.
22 min: Chance for Bamford! Raphinha cuts inside from the right and curls an inswinging cross towards Bamford, who gets under the ball and heads over from six yards. At first I thought it was a bad miss but on reflection the ball was a fraction too high.
22 min “I am feeling old today,” says Ruth Purdue, referring to the below.
💥 Maxi Rodriguez had his countrymen celebrating wildly when his unbelievable winner sent @Argentina into the #WorldCup quarter-finals. They'll be raising a toast to the Newell's Old Boys winger as he turns 40 today 🙌
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) January 2, 2021
🎁 #HBD | @MR11ok | @CANOBoficialpic.twitter.com/JxFkEEnSfk
21 min Son’s free-kick from the left is kept alive by Spurs. Eventually Hojbjerg hits a crisp first-time shot from 15 yards that goes straight at Meslier.
19 min It’s been an enjoyable game, even if there haven’t been any clear chances yet.
18 min “You know who would look good in this Leeds team, who needs a bit of footballing fun and who can afford to play for a much reduced wage?” says Gary Naylor. “Gareth Bale, that’s who.”
As I rode the crescendo of that first sentence, I honestly thought you were going to say yourself.
17 min A loose ball falls nicely for Kane, who bullets it over the bar with his left foot. That was a chance, even though he was at a fairly tight angle on the left side of the area.
13 min Leeds break three on two, with Klich finding Bamford on the edge of the area. He cushions a nice pass into Rodrigo, who can’t make room for a shot as the Spurs defenders get back. Instead he plays it back to Bamford, whose tame shot from the edge of the area is easily saved by Lloris. Rodrigo’s return pass wasn’t great, hit with too much pace and onto Bamford’s weaker foot.
12 min Davies’s corner is claimed confidently by Meslier.
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12 min Son tries a one-two with Bergwijn, and Dallas comes across to make an important interception on the edge of the area. Corner to Spurs...
10 min Alioski surges forward and slides a lovely ball through to Harrison in the area. Doherty does well to block his cross-shot but Harrison picks up the loose ball and lobs it into Klich, who smacks it over the bar on the bounce. The ball didn’t come down quickly enough for him.
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9 min Harrison’s dangerous cross just evades the leaping Raphinha at the near post and flashes across the face of goal.
8 min The game has started exactly as we expected, with Spurs sitting deep and watching Leeds play the ball around. No counter-attacking yet for Son and Kane, but they will surely come.
6 min Lots of early possession for Leeds, who look busy and relaxed.
5 min “Don’t forget the Cockerels v the Peacock on your movie poster,” says Justin Kavanagh. “Not exactly two birds of a feather but both with preening pretensions to reaching the heights of former glories.”
4 min A half chance for Leeds. Harrison fires a pass into Leeds, who controls it well on the edge of the area and plays in the marauding Alioski. He rattles a shot into the side netting from a tight angle.
3 min A quiet start. Leeds were 2-0 down at this stage of their last big away game.
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2 min “Why does a neutral get up at 4am California time to watch this match?” asks Mary Waltz. “Because absolutely anything can happen. Leeds could destroy Jose’s back four or Kane and Son could counter-attack Leeds to death Either way I will not have to watch a match like yesterday’s Everton sleepwalking football.”
1 min Peep peep! Leeds, in their maroon away strip, kick off from left to right.
“Why is Reguilon on the bench,” says Ruth Purdue, “if he’s been ‘strongly condemned’?”
Football and moral principles have a complicated relationship.
Now, Spurs v Leeds should be a cracker, but it’s not the most mouth-watering game this lunchtime. If I were you, I’d bugger off over here.
Here’s more on the Three Unwise Men of Tottenham Hotspur
Pre-match reading
All work and no play makes Jose a dull boy. He’ll love the fact Burnley have just been 24 hours’ notice as well.
“Covid this, Covid that, why don’t you f*****g play for them?!”
Yep, more Covid news I’m afraid: tomorrow’s match between Burnley and Fulham is off after more positive tests at Craven Cottage.
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Spurs return to a back four, with Toby Alderweireld and Steven Bergwijn replacing Davinson Sanchez and Sergio Reguilon. Erik Lamela is not even in the squad. He, Reguilon and Giovani Lo Celso were pictured breaking Covid rules with West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini and other less famous people on Christmas Day. Lo Celso is injured so he wouldn’t have been involved anyway.
Leeds are unchanged, but you knew that already.
Absolutely unacceptable mixing from Lo Celso, Reguilon and Lamela on Christmas Day. I guess they don’t understand the gravity of the situation but you do NOT fraternise with a West Ham player.
— Rhys James (@rhysjamesy) January 2, 2021
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Team news
Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1) Lloris; Doherty, Alderweireld, Dier, Davies; Winks, Hojbjerg; Bergwijn, Ndombele, Son; Kane.
Substitutes: Hart, Reguilon, Rodon, Tanganga, Sissoko, Alli, Fernandes, Lucas Moura, Vinicius.
Leeds United (4-1-4-1) Meslier; Dallas, Ayling, Struijk, Alioski; Phillips; Raphinha, Rodrigo, Klich, Harrison; Bamford.
Substitutes: Casilla, Cresswell, Casey, Hernandez, Shackleton, Jenkins, Poveda-Ocampo, Costa, Huggins.
Referee David Coote.
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Preamble
Hello, happy new year and welcome to one of the first treats of 2021. You could make a movie poster for this game, with taglines plastered from top to bottom in a font that oozes gravitas. Cynicism v optimism; pragmatism v idealism; Kane v Ayling; seventh v eleventh; counter-attack v attack-attack-attack; overt charisma v inscrutable charisma. Mourinho v Bielsa.
Yep, it’s Spurs v Leeds, the first meeting between two of world football’s most iconic coaches since April 2013. Jose Mourinho has a perfect record against Marcelo Bielsa - his Real Madrid won all four matches against Athletic Bilbao between 2011-13 - and he could really do with extending that today.
Spurs have taken only two points from their last four league games, dropping to seventh in the table as a result. The media, traditional and social, love a Mourinho crisis, so he can’t afford many more bad results. Yet if Spurs win this, their game in hand, they will move to within four points of Liverpool and Manchester United. It’s the Hokey Cokey title race.
Leeds will stay 11th unless they win by three goals, but a victory would move them level on points with fifth-placed Chelsea; that’s how tight the league is at 11.29 am on 2 January 2021.
Leeds’ last four games have ended 5-2, 2-6, 1-0 and 5-0, so don’t bother trying to predict what might happen, or understand it when it does. Just pour a nice kombucha - new year, new you, right - swing a boot onto the nearest footstool and enjoy the entertainment.
Kick off 12.30pm.
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