Ange Postecoglou has revealed that Ryan Mason has been working hard with the Tottenham players on their set-piece routines.
Spurs had plenty of success in set-pieces and deadball situations last season, which is perhaps down to set-piece specialist Gianni Vio.
The Italian left the club this summer and there have certainly been some marked differences in the way that Tottenham take their set-pieces this campaign.
The Lilywhites are taking a lot more short corners and it was one such situation that led to their goal against Luton Town, with James Maddison picking up the ball out wide and leaving a defender for dead before picking out Micky van de Ven, who turning the ball home from close range.
It was the 26-year-old’s fifth assist of the season (to go with his two goals) in eight matches, and Postecolgou admitted that the attacking midfielder can be a deadly weapon if he receives the ball in the right areas.
(Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)
Ryan Mason has been working on set pieces at Spurs
When asked how impressed he was with Maddison’s performance against Luton, the Australian told Football.London: “Yeah, the way we started he was extremely important – played some great balls though and opened them up with Sonny.
“And then in the second half, we were going to need his clever thinking and outside-of-the-box thinking, and Mase works really hard with the guys on set-pieces and he always says that if it’s on early – get it early.
“An early corner or set piece and you can see Madders’ brain working before they’re fully organised and creates a bit of magic for Micky to score.
“He’s been great but I think he’d be the first to say that that’s done on the back of a lot of hard work from all the guys. He’s allowed to play the game he wants and he has to work hard as well but he’s got guys alongside him making sure he gets the ball in the right areas – making runs for him to do what he does.”
Spurs Web Opinion
The piece of skill from Maddison leading up to the goal was quite sensational. The attacking midfielder showed tremendous balance to go past the defender and still had the composure to pick out Van de Ven inside the box even though he was being closed down.
Have something to tell us about this article?
