Van den Ven had an absolute shocker. He slipped for the first two goals, but it was mainly due to very poor positioning and having to scramble desperately at the last moment. Atrocious play from him both times. And then for the third, he was ball watching and didn’t make a challenge or even get close. It was the single worst performance from any Spurs defender this season. 

In general though, it’s laughable how easy it is to beat the high line. All you need is an average ball in behind and the whole system falls apart because they essentially defend with just two players and the full backs + the midfield are almost always stranded far up the field. It’s just so simple to play against and Ange’s stubbornness and lack of plan B is really starting to work against him. You simply have to be able to defend solidly at that level. They just don’t have the calibre of midfielder capable of keeping the ball at the other end all the time, which seems to be a pre-requisite for Ange’s style. You can’t always rely on van den ven chasing people down for last ditch tackles, as was amply demonstrated in this game.

They have huge problems up forward too. Son looks lost when leading the line against big and aggressive defenders sitting in a low block. They’re really missing Richarlison, and he’s far from the long term solution himself. Werner is just pathetic.