Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United – Comparing The Defensive Stats Of The Two English Giants
“Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles” are the words of one of the most revered coaches in world football, former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
‘Not conceding goals’ is the common notion that is key to winning the Premier League title. The fewer a team concedes, the fewer they need to score to pick up maximum points. As with all the beliefs, the cliché ‘defence wins titles’ isn’t true anymore.
Unsurprisingly, Premier League champions have typically been strong at both ends – but ultimately, they’ve been better in the attack. There have only ever been five ‘perfect champions’ over the last 22 years – having scored more goals and conceded fewer than any other team.
In the Premier League, for managers like Jurgen Klopp, attack is far more important than defence. His Liverpool side is well-oiled in the attack, but defensively, his team is naïve and filled with frailties. However, for managers like Jose Mourinho and Mauricio Pochettino, they prioritise nullifying the attacking threats, rather outscore a team.
Pochettino has been at Tottenham since 2014 and since then, his team has been one of the best sides in England. Nearly all of Spurs’ attack involves gradual buildup through the middle. The formation, which is a 3-4-3, similar to Antonio Conte’s title winning system in 2016/17 season, is covered by one of the best back-lines in the world – Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld and summer signing Davinson Sanchez. Eric Dier, who played as a centre-back in Spurs’ failed tilt at the title last season, now operates as a central midfielder.
In comparison, Mourinho joined United last term and led the club to three trophies (including the Community Shield). Despite finishing 6th in the league, he had one of the meanest of defences. In defenders Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and new signing Victor Lindelof, United are a tough nut to crack. Nemanja Matic’s arrival from Chelsea is considered as the signing of the summer, and the Serb, as diligent as always, has been playing some best football of his career at United.
With 7 league games done and dusted, and with the players headed for their national duties, lets us have a defensive comparison between Tottenham and Manchester United, taking into account the stats so far this season.
Manchester United boast the best defence in the league, having conceded only two goals. They are joint-top along with Manchester City in the number of goals conceded. Spurs, on the other hand, have leaked in five goals.
Just a week ago, Spurs’ new signing Serge Aurier put on a defensive masterclass against a difficult West Ham side, but his day turned sour because of his dismissal. United, on the other hand, have not received a red card this season so far. Spurs also have accumulated 12 yellow cards compared to United’s 9; which shows that Pochettino’s men are a tad too rash.
If clean-sheets are compared, Hugo Lloris for Tottenham has kept 4, while United’s David De Gea, arguably the world’s best goalkeeper, has kept a staggering 6 out of 7.
Pochettino has lost just once so far, which came against Chelsea at Wembley, while Mourinho’s team are yet to taste defeat. Neither of them has not faced last season’s top six (except Tottenham already having faced Chelsea of course), which means that sterner tests are ahead.
On a bigger picture, United are joint-top in the league, with City bragging a better goal-aggregate. Spurs, riding on Harry Kane’s class, are just 5 points shy off the summit.
Well, it’s just October, with both teams yet to play each other. The stats prove that United have been more dominant than Spurs overall, let alone the defence. However, this is football and it takes just a bad day to ruin months of good work.
Football is a sport that keeps undergoing changes, with the latest evolution firmly in the direction of the attacking side of the game. But don’t expect managers like Mourinho and Pochettino to compromise their defensive nous of the game for completely full throttle football.
Stats credit: Squawka. (Tottenham & Manchester United)