Maddison magic and rapid defenders: Why Spurs are the real deal

Adrian Clarke looks at key tactical talking points from the season so far.

How Spurs are early leaders

Unbeaten Tottenham Hotspur are the surprise leaders after eight rounds of matches, impressing greatly with a brand-new tactical approach.

The top four

Position Pos	Club	Played Pl	GD	Points Pts
1	Man City MCI	38	+62	91
2	Arsenal ARS	38	+62	89
3	Liverpool LIV	38	+45	82
4	Aston Villa AVL	38	+15	68

Adopting a far more attacking style than we have seen from them in recent years, Spurs are pressing with far more vigour, controlling matches through possession rather than relying on counter-attacks, and they are carrying a greater goal threat despite losing Harry Kane.

Head coach Ange Postecoglou has even got the side working harder, covering an extra 2.4km per match in comparison to last season.

Their early season form has been a triumph for Postecoglou’s coaching on the training ground, while his new signings have also hit the ground the running too.

Magic from Maddison

Ever since Christian Eriksen left the club in 2020, Spurs had sorely missed the influence of a creative midfielder capable of unlocking defences with moments of individual excellence.

James Maddison has filled that void magnificently since making a summer switch from Leicester City.

The England star instantly looks at home within Postecoglou’s starting XI, scoring twice and producing a league-leading five assists across his first eight appearances.

Playing as the No 10 in an adventurous, possession-heavy 4-2-3-1 formation, Maddison is afforded the luxury of moving wherever he pleases in search of the ball.

He knits moves together with Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr in central areas, joins in out wide to create overloads, and plays close to striker Son Heung-min when Spurs get within the final third of the pitch.

His touch map from his last outing at Luton Town highlights how mobile he is, which is why opponents find it so hard to pin him down.

Maddison's touch map at Luton

Maddison is also revelling in the extra touches of the ball he is receiving at Spurs. Last season he averaged 36.7 passes per 90 minutes, but that has risen to 53 at his new club.

He is making the most of that extra possession to impact matches too.

No one in the Premier League hs played more passes into the box than Maddison.

Most passes into the box

Despite being a central attacking midfielder, two of Maddison's most eye-catching pieces of skill have come near the opposition byline.

He turned Bukayo Saka brilliantly to cut the ball back for Son to score in the north London derby, and from a short corner at Luton he wriggled his way past a defender to set up Micky van de Ven for the winning goal.

Right now, he is the division’s most confident attacking midfield player.

Spurs' quick defence

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, left-back Destiny Udogie, and centre-back Van de Ven, are all new members of Spurs' defensive unit, and each has made a hugely positive impression.

No Premier League goalkeeper can boast a better save percentage than Spurs’ No 1, and tigerish full-back Udogie has made more tackles than any other defender in the division.

Vicario and Udogie top of the charts

Postecoglou will also be thrilled at how well Cristian Romero has gelled with Dutch central defender Van de Ven, whose fine form has been rewarded with a senior Netherlands debut this international break.

They will both carry the ball forward with immense confidence when opponents sit off, and while Romero is the more aggressive of the two, they have each shown great enthusiasm for defending resiliently this season.

The key to their success is pace.

Van de Ven and Romero are two of the quickest Spurs players, and because they have outstanding recovery speed it affords them the opportunity to defend high upfield on the halfway line.

This helps Spurs press opponents with conviction, safe in the knowledge they have two exceptionally fast defenders to cover behind them.

Udogie, who also comes infield as an inverted left-back, is another new player blessed with terrific acceleration.

While Postecoglou deserves enormous credit for the way he has transformed Spurs while remaining unbeaten, the club will also be thrilled with the signings they have made.

Maddison and Van de Ven have been exceptional, but Vicario, Udogie, Manor Solomon, Brennan Johnson, and January recruit Pedro Porro have all impressed too.

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Also in this series

Part 1: Has Arteta made the right call replacing Ramsdale with Raya?
Part 2: Is Rodri's absence behind Haaland's drop in form?
Part 3: How Chelsea are getting the best out of revitalised Sterling