Tottenham Hotspur returns to winning ways after three consecutive losses in the English Premier League. Spurs won their first three matches of the league and were in the first position for three weeks. After that Nuno’s men suffered three defeats in a row at the hands of three London rivals, Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Arsenal. The 2-1 victory over Aston Villa in the game week seven has lifted the spirits once again in the Spurs dugout.
The above viz is the representation of shot map attempts taken by Spurs players against Aston Villa. A total of 17 shots were attempted and seven shots were on target. Eight shots were attempted from inside the opposition box and nine from outside the box. The xG rate was 1.60 for Spurs.
Tottenham Hotspur attempted a total number of 20 shots in the three games played before the Aston Villa fixture. In those three matches, only eight shots were on target. The xG rate was 0.09, 0.54 and 0.96 in those matches. The combined total of xG in these matches was equal to the xG rate in the match against Aston Villa. Out of the 20 shots attempted, nine were on target for the Spurs side. Nuno’s men created more chances than the average of the last three matches and this is the first match in which they have scored two goals.
The above viz are the stats of the previous four matches. Spurs players attempted 25 dribbles in the match against Aston Villa and the success rate was high. In the other three matches, they managed to win more than 50% of the dribbles only once.
The challenge intensity was more than eight and this was more than the intensity in their previous matches. Spurs only managed to reach seven in one match and were unable to match the intensity in matches against good attacking sides like Arsenal and Chelsea.
Spurs created more chances against Villa and they have also contested the highest number of offensive duels in that match. The players contested 83 offensive duels compared to 66, 74 and 59 duels in the other three matches. The win percentage was also high for the Spurs.
The loose ball duels and aerial duels also saw a significant increase in the numbers. The team averaged 33 loose ball duels and 35 aerial duels in the three matches. But in the previous match Tottenham Hotspur players contested 45 loose ball duels and 48 aerial duels.
Tottenham Hotspur created more chances in the previous matches and scored more than one goal for the first time this season. The challenge intensity was more and the duels were contested in large numbers. Spurs are now in the eighth position with 12 points in seven matches.
