Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou takes ownership of set-piece struggles after Arsenal defeat.
Postecoglou has dismissed claims that he doesn’t prioritize set pieces, acknowledging that his team’s struggles defending dead-ball situations are “my burden to carry”.
This comes after Sunday’s 1-0 loss to north London rivals Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Gabriel’s header from a corner proved to be the decisive goal.
Set-Piece Woes Continue to Haunt Spurs
According to the BBC, the goal marked the 18th time Tottenham has conceded from a set piece since the start of the 2023/24 season, Postecoglou’s first in charge.
However, the Australian coach remains adamant that his side dedicates sufficient time to working on set-piece defense.
“We work on them as much as anyone,” Postecoglou insisted.
“For some reason people think I don’t care about set pieces and it’s a narrative that you can keep going on for ages and ages.”
“I understand that. Like I said, we work on them all the time.
You know that they’re a threat, as I said, for the most part, we handled them really well today, but we switched off for one and we paid a price.
You learn from that and you move on.
“But it is what it is, it’s my burden to carry, and I’m happy to do that.
I’ve always said there’s a bigger picture that’s at play here that’s much more important than the finer details of us getting to where we want to.
For us, the way forward is to try to turn the football we’re playing now into something meaningful.”
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Defending set pieces has proved a weak point for Spurs, with some crucial goals in the 2023/24 campaign coming from dead-ball situations, including two in the previous iteration of the north London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Postecoglou’s side also crashed out of last season’s FA Cup to a late set-piece goal against Manchester City, while Sean Dyche‘s Everton capitalised on Spurs’ struggles with two goals from dead-ball situations in a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park.
The former Celtic boss said:
“it only takes one” player to switch off from a set piece, against an Arsenal side who have profited hugely from such situations in recent years.
“We held them well for the most part and you switch off for one and you pay the price.”
“They took their key moment and we didn’t.
“We had held them well and they’re obviously a big threat from set pieces.
It only takes one. It wasn’t just [Cristian] Romero, others switched off from the set piece.”
Tottenham are preparing to face Coventry City in the EFL Cup third round on Wednesday, Postecoglou will be eager to rectify his team’s set-piece struggles.
A win against the Sky Blues would provide a much-needed boost, but Spurs must first overcome their vulnerability from dead-ball situations.
