Ange Postecoglou has heaped praise on Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison following Tottenham’s win over Manchester United and offered a big reason why the midfield pairing works so well for his side.
Tottenham’s deadly midfield duo
At the start of the season, many would have guessed that if Kulusevski were to be moved centrally, it would be to replace Maddison in the number-ten role. After all, the Swede shone there last season when the England international was out injured.
However, instead, Postecoglou has decided to play both players as number eights for the last few matches, with Rodrigo Bentancur as the sole holding player behind them.
The pairing has worked a treat, and the duo arguably delivered their best performance as a duo at Old Trafford as Tottenham emerged with a 3-0 win.
Postecoglou explains why they are great together
Postecoglou has now pointed out that playing both Kulusevski and Maddison together offers balance to Tottenham’s midfield, given the former’s ability to cover ground and the latter’s quality on the ball.
When asked what makes their connection so good, the Spurs head coach responded (via Football.London): “Because I think they’re both really good intelligent footballers.
“The way we play suits their characteristics because Madders does so much damage with the ball and Deki does so much damage with his running, that it’s a good balance for us in that attacking third and they also had to show good discipline today.
“Because we knew that the main threat Manchester United have is in the transition. You know, they’re pretty lethal with the front guys they’ve got so we really wanted to make sure we locked them in today and that was the full-backs and for Madders and Deki to be really disciplined in their football. They’re both going really well and working really hard and improving.”
Defensive improvements
One would have thought that playing Maddison and Kulusevski together in the middle of the park would leave Spurs too open, given the pair’s attacking instincts.
However, the Lilywhites have actually shown improvements defensively this season, having conceded just five goals in their first seven league games.
Both players have shown a willingness to track back and do the dirty work when needed.
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