RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesSYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JULY 29: Conor Gallagher of Spurs reacts during the Sydney Super Cup match between Sydney FC and Tottenham Hotspur at Allianz Stadium on July 29, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Steve Christo - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images) | Corbis via Getty Images
Editor’s note: As mentioned in the match report yesterday, in a departure from our usual structure I’ve elaborated on some talking points based on observations I made at the ground as well as a match report; as such, I’ve done some deeper analysis rather than the high-level talking points we might typically cover.
A fascinating encounter last night in Sydney saw Tottenham Hotspur come out the victors in their latest preseason hit-out against Sydney FC. With Roberto De Zerbi naming a stronger side than the one he selected against Auckland FC, Spurs started on the front foot and looked much the better side, without being able to convert that dominance into goals, with an excellent Mathys Tel free kick Spurs’ lone goal. Following Sydney FC equalizing in the second half, the match went to penalties where Spurs held their nerve to win the shootout 2-4, with Joe Lacey hitting the post and Martin Dubravka saving Alexandar Popovic’s attempt.
Here’s a deep dive into a few things I took away from Spurs’ latest preseason fixture.
1. Lopsided structure
In preseason, it’s always hard to determine tactically what exactly is due to managerial instructions, the opposition, the players on the pitch, or a combination of all three. What was clear though was that Spurs were very much operating in an asymmetrical nature in a variation to their typical 4-2-3-1.
The midfield was clearly set up as a two, with Conor Gallagher in front of Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray as a #10; however, Gallagher often was dropping back to link play and Bergvall routinely pushed forward, as well as at times moving out into wide areas while Solomon at times tucked in. This at times left Gray as the sole holding role.
On the left, Mathys Tel hugged the touchline, and Rio Kyerematen, who is right footed and does play as a central midfielder at U21 levels, played an inverted / free role, often making underlapping runs inside Tel or tucking in to receive a pass back centrally. This played out like so:
It was a setup that was arguably closer to a 3-3-3-1, and one that makes you wonder whether De Zerbi could experiment with a similar setup but tilted the other way, with Pedro Porro in the free role on the right and Micky van de Ven on the left – the struggle being that Spurs don’t really have a touchline hugging winger option down the right (could Savinho perhaps play that role if he comes in?).
This meant nearly all of Spurs’ buildup went down the left, but again, this could have been due to some of the personnel involved. Though I wouldn’t say Tye Hall and Malachi Hardy were clearly less comfortable on the ball than Ben Davies (Davies had a number of very shaky moments in possession), they were very much less inclined to take risks with their passing, whilst Davies’ experience and calm afforded him the space to look forwards, and Kyerematen and Gallagher’s movement often meant they were options to receive.
This meant Manor Solomon was rarely involved (as did his relative lack of movement), outside of a couple of quick bursts and tricky dribbles which largely came from turnovers high up the pitch with Sydney’s defense out of shape, generated by Spurs’ press. Tel and Kyerematen, however, were heavily involved with a number of bright moments for both, and it will be intriguing to see both what happens with the Spurs youngster this season and whether Tel can make that next step up and lay claim to a starting berth. He’s doing almost all he can so far in preseason; what he needs to add is end product.
2. The press and the Gallagher conundrum
Sitting in the press box, there were a few things I observed that you wouldn’t necessarily observe on a television broadcast. The first were some of the comments from well-known journalists, one of which was: “I don’t miss watching Conor Gallagher play football.” This was followed up, though, by, “The thing is that coaches love him, he has a great attitude and works really hard.”
Unfortunately, hard work in a vacuum is not enough to succeed in top-level football; but that brings me to my second observation: Gallagher’s movement. Gallagher moved more than possibly any other player on the pitch; and it was intelligent movement. He was dragging the defense out of shape, popping up in pockets of space, and making attacking runs. Off the ball he was relentless. It was the sort of movement that makes De Zerbi’s “third man” tactics function successfully (for more on that, see my previous piece here ).
What was also notable was how important Gallagher was to Spurs’ press. His engine combined with his angled runs (and choosing when to make them), coupled with the likes of Archie Gray’s intelligent defensive positioning, pinned Sydney FC back in their half and resulted in a number of turnovers high up the pitch, generating scoring opportunities for Spurs. He and Richarlison worked extremely hard to pressure an overwhelmed Sydney backline, and as Gallagher tired, so did Spurs’ press fall off.
There was a marked difference in the second half as to Sydney’s control in the match, and that was due to two factors: 1) Sydney’s willingness to be slightly more direct and ambitious in their passing, looking immediately forward through the middle rather than working wide and probing, which was afforded in part by 2) Richarlison, but especially Gallagher just being a half-step slower closing the ball down. This was rectified once De Zerbi made further substitutions and fresh legs plus a formation change got Spurs on the front foot once more (as well as Sydney opting to sit deeper and play on the counter once they equalized).
Which brings us to the conundrum: if Roberto De Zerbi wants to press in that manner, Gallagher is arguably a ...
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