In the Zone: Tottenham's timely counterattacks

The Stade Vélodrome witnessed the most dramatic denouement of Matchday 6 with Tottenham Hotspur's comeback victory against Olympique de Marseille.

In this article brought to you by FedEx, UEFA's Technical Observer Panel analyses Marseille's first-half supremacy and the keys to Spurs' response in the second period – notably their counterattacking play – as they earned the result which took them into the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, and left their hosts down and out at the foot of Group D.

Goals

1-0: Chancel Mbemba (45+2)

Marseille's goal came from the second of two corners in quick succession, this latter one won by Amine Harit off Ryan Sessegnon following a combination with Matteo Guendouzi on the right. Harit played it quickly, knocking the ball short to Jordan Veretout, who swung a terrific ball out to the far post. With Tottenham's defenders not fully organised, the unmarked Mbemba jumped high and buried his header low into the bottom corner.

1-1: Clément Lenglet (54)

The source of the equaliser was an Ivan Perišić free-kick, Spurs' third set-play goal of the group stage and the Croatian's third assist. Harry Kane won the free-kick, getting his body across Guendouzi to invite a foul in the final third on the left side, and Perišić produced an outswinging ball almost to the edge of the five-metre box. Spurs had six men inside the area, including the taller trio of Kane, Lenglet and Eric Dier towards the back post. With Dier making a clever diagonal run across Lenglet, Valentin Rongier – the man marking Spurs' French centre-back – could not stop him getting off the ground to head into the bottom-left corner.

1-2: Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (90+5)

Tottenham's winner was a counterattack which caught out a Marseille side throwing men forward to try to win the match. A Ben Davies clearance found Kane on halfway with just one centre-back, Mbemba, barring his route to goal. Unfortunately for OM, Harit – the player nominally in the defensive midfield zone – stopped running as two Tottenham players sprinted upfield, leaving Mbemba alone against three opponents. Kane duly supplied Højbjerg who, breaking centrally with Mbemba in pursuit, took two touches before arrowing a fierce shot past Pau López from the edge of the box.

Player of the Match: Hugo Lloris

UEFA's match observer praised the experienced Tottenham captain for a "solid and clever" performance on a night he made three saves, notably an excellent stop to thwart Veretout in the first half. "He was a true leader of the team in a difficult game and made saves to keep them in the game," added the observer, who also noted Lloris's commanding response to the various challenges thrown up on a testing night for his team, including knowing when to slow the game down.

Team formations

Marseille

Marseille's starting 3-4-2-1 set-up

Marseille's starting formation was a 3-4-2-1 though, in practice, the shape was closer to a 3-4-3, with full-backs Jonathan Clauss (7) and Nuno Tavares (30) getting high up the pitch when in possession. Of the midfield trio, Guendouzi (6) was the most active in the build-up play, while dropping deeper at times to create an overload.

Veretout (27) helped to cover the left flank in defensive transitions, while on the right Mbemba (99) covered the space behind Clauss when required. The Marseille scorer was commended by the UEFA observer for his efforts as he was always available in the build-up and showed courage in his contest with Kane.

Out of possession, Igor Tudor's team switched to a 5-4-1 formation with the full-backs dropping alongside the three centre-backs and Guendouzi and Harit (77) covering the wings. The presence of three centre-backs meant one of the trio could follow their man if he fell deeper without the fear of leaving too much space for Tottenham to penetrate down the middle.

In the latter stages, Marseille's shape remained the same but Tudor sent on more attacking players like Cengiz Ünder and Luis Suárez, and this meant there was more space for Spurs to exploit.

Tottenham

Spurs in their starting formation

The north London side began the match in a 3-4-2-1 in which Højbjerg (5) played a pivotal role as the holding midfielder and Rodrigo Bentancur (30) operated from box to box. On the left, Perišić (14) got high and wide when in possession, with Heung-Min Son (7) – prior to his injury – dropping deeper on the inside. On the other flank, Sessegnon (19) stayed slightly deeper, leaving Lucas Moura (27) with space higher on the right flank and inside.

Out of possession, Tottenham stayed compact in a 5-4-1 formation with the full-backs dropping alongside the centre-backs. When defending higher, the shape morphed into a 3-4-3 with two clear holding midfielders and the three forwards ahead of them working together as the first of three defensive blocks.

Once Son was off the field and replaced by Yves Bissouma (38), Spurs' formation shifted to a 3-5-2 which provided more numbers in the middle of the field, with Moura joining Kane (10) in the attack.

Spurs' second-half set-up

Features

The video above highlights Tottenham's ability to spring forward on the counter, which was a strong feature of their second-half display. They defended low and posed a threat on the break, and the first clip offers one such example from just after the hour. From sitting deep in a 5-4-1, they break upfield after Bentancur wins the ball on the left wing. Within 12 seconds, the ball is falling at the feet of Kane in the five-metre box. It was a warning that Marseille did not heed, as highlighted by the move for Højbjerg's winning goal in the final clip – a demonstration, moreover, of the clinical touch that was the key difference between the sides.

For Group D winners Tottenham, the truism about a game of two halves comes to mind in an overall analysis of their performance. In the first period, they struggled to get on the ball and build up the play, with Marseille applying near-constant pressure. Needing to win, the Ligue 1 side pressed high from the first minute, pushing their wing-backs high up the pitch and dominating possession. It was an approach that demanded a lot of energy which, the UEFA observer noted, may have been a factor in the second-half turnaround.

Another factor was the above-mentioned tactical tweak to a 3-5-2. In the second period, Spurs were a team transformed, a solid unit playing with composure and good organisation.

Additionally, the observer pointed to the character that Spurs showed in difficult circumstances, summed up by the leadership and knowhow of senior players like Lloris, Højbjerg and Kane. In the case of Højbjerg, his work rate and attitude were summed up by his winning goal as he showed the energy and desire to race forward five minutes into added time.

For Marseille, who had missed their own golden chance through Sead Kolašinac, it was a harsh lesson about the fine margins at this level. A lack of focus against experienced opponents had cost them even the consolation of a place in the UEFA Europa League.

Looking at the French club's display, the UEFA observer cited their good pressing work and combination play. They were able to create overloads in the midfield and, with short passing combinations, set up several opportunities as they mustered 16 shots to Spurs' seven. There was particular praise for midfielder Veretout, who worked box to box and was clever in his pressing and gathering of second balls, helping his team establish control of the midfield in the first half.

Another player to highlight is Nuno Tavares, the left wing-back who delivered the most crosses from open play (11) of any player on Matchday 6. His efforts ensured Marseille ended the week with more open-play crosses than any team (28 altogether), while he and Tottenham wing-back Perišić ended the group stage ranked joint-second for most open-play crosses with 32 each. When it came to defending those crosses, it helped Spurs that they had supremacy in the air on the night, winning 65.2% of their aerial duels.

Player and coaches' assessments

Hugo Lloris, Tottenham goalkeeper: "In the first half, OM played without fear of losing. In the second half, they were afraid of losing. We showed great personality in difficult moments in the game."

Igor Tudor, Marseille coach: "We didn't start the second half well. We dropped off for the first ten, 15 minutes, conceded a goal, and then we started again. We dominated for 75 minutes, but it clearly was not enough."

Cristian Stellini, Tottenham assistant coach: "We talked a lot in the dressing room about the energy we needed in the second half. In the first half we never used energy to press and create difficulties, and they controlled the game well, but in the second half this aspect changed and we played a fantastic second half."