Ange Postecoglou has admitted that the introduction of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg at half-time helped change the game and praised his players for the conviction they showed in the second half against Manchester City.
Postecoglou made only one change from the clash against Aston Villa last week, with Yves Bissouma coming into the starting eleven in place of the injured Rodrigo Bentancur, thus sending a clear signal that he wanted his side to take the game to the Premier League champions.
However, for the bulk of the first half, the away side struggled to play out from the back and kept making errors, with Pep Guardiola’s men having plenty of joy in winning possession high up the pitch and creating chances.
Spurs were lucky to come into half-time with just a one-goal deficit but they came out with a lot more intent in the second period, with Hojbjerg coming on at the interval for Bryan Gil.
(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg impresses off the bench
The introduction of the Dane gave Tottenham a lot more control in the middle of the park and Postecoglou admitted that he was delighted to see his players go toe-to-toe with City for the majority of the second period.
When asked if the change he made at half-time made the difference, the Australian told Football.London: “I think it helped. I thought Pierre was excellent in the second half.
“His experience out there, I thought we just as a group had a lot more conviction about our football, just passing it and not second-guessing ourselves and being hesitant with our passes like we did in the first half.
“Look I’m on the touchline and everything outside looks easy but when you’re out there you’re facing a world-class team in a venue where they don’t give up too many things.
“It’s understandable in many respects but at the same time, as I said to them at half-time, whatever fallout or bad outcome there is, I’ll take the responsibility.
“I’m the one that’s putting them out there. Let’s at least show a little bit more conviction about the kind of football team we want to be and I thought they did that in the second half.
“You’re never going to totally dominate a game of football here but in the second half, I thought we were very much in the game against a very good football side.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I thought Hojbjerg was extremely poor against Wolves and against Villa after replacing Bentancur in the first half.
However, the Dane showed yesterday just what he can offer, solidifying the midfield when he came on. While the jury is still out on whether the 28-year-old is effective against a mid to low-block, he has a lot to offer in games where we do not have much of the ball.
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