Inside the chaos at Tottenham and how Ange Postecoglou's genius £40m signing tweak sealed landmark win

Tottenham Hotspur made mincemeat of Manchester City at the Etihad over the weekend. The Lilywhites thrashed the Premier League defending champions 4-0, with the opener and second goal coming from James Maddison, who, until the game against City, had been playing in a more withdrawn role.

Having set up his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation in his first season at Tottenham, Ange Postecoglou ditched the setup for a 4-3-3 this season. Dejan Kulusevski, who was previously known as a right winger, has been playing as a right central midfielder, while James Maddison has taken on the role of left central midfielder. This makes the team an ultra-attacking side, but Maddison, despite his impressive goal contributions, has not been playing close enough to goal.

The defeats to Galatasaray and Ipswich led Postecoglou to tweak his formation back to a 4-2-3-1, and it worked wonders against a formidable side like Manchester City. With Maddison at number 10, Spurs had an efficient player positioned closer to goal. The two goals he scored against City were no fluke. This is what you get when you play him near the action.

The same formation also ensures that there is a traditional central midfielder next to the defensive midfielder. This cover is vital for a team with attacking fullbacks like Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie. Pape Matar Sarr covers for Yves Bissouma, and Bissouma in turn provides support for Porro.

Although Kulusevski has excelled in central midfield in the 4-3-3 formation, the Swede is at his best as a right winger, where he has the space to dribble, cut inside, and deliver dangerous crosses, like the one that assisted Maddison’s opener at the Etihad.

The former Juventus winger is among the best in the league in his preferred position. In just one game back on the right wing, he showed the football world that he can go toe-to-toe with the best.

He created two big chances, more than any other player in Gameweek 12, and completed four successful dribbles, the highest in the game week.

Sticking to this formation would likely mean Brennan Johnson would no longer be a starter. The Welshman might not be happy with this, but Spurs fans would be content knowing they have a quality winger on the bench who can make a positive impact in games. After all, all good teams have strong depth in their squad.

Tottenham needed the win after what was truly a difficult 10 days given they lost to Ipswich and the pressure mounting on the boss but so did Manchester City who had lost all their four games and needed a response.

The way Postecoglou did and how Maddison responded is the way to go if they are to rediscover themselves and go all out at leats get the fourth to get back to Champions League football.