Until the fifth week of the Premier League, the top assists scorer was not in the name of a creative midfielder like Kevin De Bruyne or Bruno Fernandes. Tottenham Hotspur striker and vice-captain, Harry Kane, is solid as a top assist with a record of seven assists. Twice more than Aaron Cresswell, Jack Grealish, John McGinn and James Rodriguez with three assists.
This record matches Kane’s number of assists in the past two Premier League seasons, namely the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons. Even so, the 27-year-old striker remains productive. He has scored five goals so far.
Uniquely, Kane’s six assists were converted into goals by one name, Son Heung-min. The two players have had an incredible connection this season. Son also contributed to some of Kane’s goals. Two of Kane’s five goals have come thanks to an assist from Son.
Kane’s move down and then pass through to Son is a typical Tottenham scheme this season. They both succeeded in destroying Southampton who played with a high defensive line. Manchester United also made no move. Finally, Tottenham won three goals in 16 minutes over West Ham even though in the end The Lilywhites had to settle for a draw.
Did Jose Mourinho give Kane a new role? The position of the English player is a little different, but Kane does often come down to pick up the ball from previous seasons. The difference is, Kane’s movement when it goes down and wide is really aimed at Son.
Kane will go down or widen especially during the transition phase. Kane’s assist to Son in the match against West Ham was an example when Kane came down. Son is in a higher position to attack the space behind the opposing line of defense. An accurate gastric pass allows Son to have a 1v1 situation against the goalkeeper.
When wide, Kane tends to choose a side with space left by full-backs. Two legs that are equally strong allow Kane to deliver through balls from the left or right equally well. The center-back was in a dilemma as they had to go wide to close the pass to Kane at the risk of leaving a hole between the two center-backs. This space was maximized by Son.
The first goal against Southampton came from this situation. Kane goes wide to the left, the center-back is forced to go wide and Son takes advantage of space. Against West Ham, a similar scheme occurred but with a different side.
Mourinho has been dominant in playing in a 4-3-3 formation this season. This means that there is no player number 10 as a hole attacker. This is not a problem with Son and Kane. The two players took turns exploiting the space between the lines.
When Kane attacks the space between the lines, the opposing defender will be attracted to snatch the ball from Kane, leaving space behind. Son immediately moved to ask for a breakthrough bait to take advantage of the space. This scheme resulted in the second goal against Southampton. Opportunities with a similar scheme were also created when facing Newcastle.
In different situations, Tottenham’s scheme to exploit the space between opposing lines will be different. The goal scored by Lucas Moura against Newcastle is an example. Son attacked the space between the lines, Kane went wide to take advantage of the space left by the full-back. Kane fired a cross which Lucas Moura was able to maximize.
A similar scheme occurred in Kane’s second goal against West Ham. Son attacks the space between the lines, this time the difference is that Kane doesn’t go wide. Sergio Reguilon’s presence as a left-back who likes to overlap will help Kane. Every now and then he can be a penalty box striker who is focused on finding a position to complete an attack. Kane headed Reguilon’s cross into a goal.
Kane’s record of two seasons failing to enter the top five of the Premier League’s top scorers does not seem to bother the 188 centimeters striker. He can lower his ego to keep the role of a striker involved in the game. Sometimes it even provides opportunities for other players to score goals. An attitude that needs to be emulated as a captain, prioritizing the team more than individuals.
As a result, Tottenham scored 15 goals in five matches. In stark contrast to the label on Mourinho as a pragmatic coach. The Portuguese coach was successful in implementing a new scheme which proved to be successful even though he had not generated many points due to Tottenham’s poor defense.
Kane’s increasing contribution is of course no coincidence. It is something that is practiced constantly in training sessions. Regarding Kane as the creator of the attack, this can be seen from the statistics of the breakthrough bait per 90 minutes and the progressive bait distance per 90 (meters) that have increased. Kane is slowly transforming into a versatile, complete striker.
As well as improving the quality of the pass that allowed Kane to deliver accurate through-through passes, Son’s understanding with him also improved. As a result, Kane was able to act as a supplier. Son’s four goals against Southampton were no coincidence, but the two of them had spoken before the match to implement the scheme.
“We knew there would be space behind the line so we talked about me going down and he ran. I don’t have to look, I know he will definitely run to the back of the line, “Kane said in a post match interview.
Apart from Son, Gareth Bale will also benefit from Kane who acts as the creator of Tottenham’s attack. Even though Bale only played for 18 minutes, Kane tried to pass the cross even though it wasn’t accurate. If Bale is able to rediscover his quality, Kane has two incredible options to be spoiled for.
Kane is able to transform into a complete striker. Not only scoring goals, he can also be involved in the game to change the direction of attack, pick up the ball in a low area, or release a through ball. It cannot be denied, Kane’s role at Tottenham was able to lift the team’s performance.
ASL
