Tottenham vs Brentford: Despite another middling performance, Spurs and Antonio Conte moved to three games unbeaten in the Premier League, with a 2-0 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday.
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The victory sends Tottenham (22 points) into 6th place in the Premier League table, just two points back of 4th-place West Ham (with a game in hand).
Brentford remain 12th, six points clear of the relegation zone.
Tottenham vs Brentford final score, stats, results
Final score: Tottenham 2, Brentford 0
Goal scorers: Tottenham (Canos 12' - OG), Brentford (None)
Shots: Tottenham 11, Brentford 6
Shots on target: Tottenham 6, Brentford 2
Possession: Tottenham 47%, Brentford 53%
3 things we learned - Tottenham vs Brentford
1. Tottenham tempo increasing under Conte: If the first three games (2W-1D-0L) of the Antonio Conte era have taught us anything, it’s that Nuno Espirito Santo’s Spurs were a painfully slow, plodding and ponderous team — on both sides of the ball. No side in the Premier League has covered less ground this season that Tottenham, and that’s including three games of Conte pushing the tempo steady higher. Given that Spurs’ best moments a season ago came as a result of quick counter-attacks between two and three players, Thursday game was just another reminder of just how poor Nuno’s ideas were for this team, and why he lasted all of 10 Premier League games.
2. Mixed results for Reguilon, Royal on the wings: In Conte’s system, there might not be two more important players than the wing backs made to cover every blade of grass from end line to end line. Everywhere else on the field, midfielders are closely connected to one another and the defenders behind them; the forwards often drop deep and find themselves connected to the midfielders, who are still connected to the back three. Everybody’s close to somebody, except the wing backs. Whether or not Sergio Reguilon and Emerson Royal are long for Conte’s Tottenham will be determined by their performances the rest of the way. As things stand, they’ll need to be much, much better.
3. Brentford helpless for the first time in the PL: There’s no doubt that injuries are currently hampering Brentford and threatening to dismantle their brilliant start to life in the Premier League. Five defeats in seven games is a poor run of results for any side, but it can be especially damaging to a group of players who have never been in that particular battle. Their next five games: Leeds away, Watford home, Manchester United home, Southampton away, Brighton away. There are four very winnable games in there, between now and the end of 2021.
Man of the Match: Son Heung-min - It was his cross that caused the first (own) goal and he scored the second. In a game that produced little quality, two moments really stand out.
Tottenham vs Brentford highlights
Sergi Canos charged with own goal for 1-0 (video)
Son whipped a dangerous cross to the top of the six-yard box, and Pontus Jansson appeared to have the situation covered as he headed the ball away from Brentford’s goal. He was, however, unaware that the head of Sergi Canos was only a few feet away, in the path of his header, and that just about sums things up for Brentford of late.
[ VIDEO: PL highlights ]
Son Heung-min slots home to give Tottenham 2-0 lead (goal video)
Kane found Reguilon down the left, and Reguilon crossed into the middle for Son. It was a rather familiar combination a season ago, and it’s proving successful once again.