‘Look what he says’: Alan Shearer spotted something interesting Ange Postecoglou did during West Ham comeback
He was spot on❗
Despite an early setback against West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou will have been delighted with his side’s response.
Tottenham rallied to win 4-1 against West Ham in N17, a much needed reaction after their chaotic defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion just before the international break.
The likes of Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-min were both vital to the victory, inspiring Spurs with their goals and their endless energy.
Kulusevski in particular was non-stop in the middle, justifying Postecoglou’s decision to play him centrally in midfield.
That being said, James Maddison’s role wasn’t quite working in the first half, even if he did play a big role in Spurs’ opener.
Pape Matar Sarr inspired a much needed comeback against West Ham
Postecoglou decided to replace Maddison with Pape Matar Sarr for the second half, a decision that gave Spurs more balance in the middle.
And when speaking on Match of the Day, Alan Shearer spotted something interesting that Postecoglou did immediately as the half-time whistle went.
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The Tottenham manager made an instantaneous decision to bring Sarr on, telling him right away.
Shearer said: “Look what he says at half-time, he goes down the tunnel and says to Pape Sarr, you’re going on, get ready, go and warm up.
“He brings him on and they were a different team in the second half. Maddison goes off and all of a sudden he brings him on (Sarr), because he wants more legs, more power and bit of steel in that midfield, and he certainly offered that.”
Ange Postecoglou explains why he subbed James Maddison at half-time
Also speaking via Match of the Day, Postecoglou explained his decision to hook Maddison during the break, one that must have been quite humiliating for the England international.
Maddison will no doubt have respected Postecoglou’s decision, but it wouldn’t have made it any less frustrating.
Postecoglou said: “Not just him but you know, I just felt that we needed a little bit more running power in that midfield and Pape has got bags of that, he’s got bags of energy and I thought he really helped us get control of that midfield.
“You have to defend against West Ham because they’ve got some big physical guys in there and that gave us a good platform for us going forward.
“But I just thought our general play really improved from there and we looked really dangerous going forward.”
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