Tottenham came from behind to secure a huge 4-1 victory against top-four rivals Aston Villa on Sunday.
Having slumped to a disappointing defeat against Crystal Palace last weekend, Tottenham have since bounced back with two massive wins against Manchester City and Aston Villa.
In typical Spurs fashion though, Ange Postecoglou’s side would not make it easy for themselves – having to rescue victory from the chaws of defeat after they fell 1-0 down in the first half.
Dominic Solanke’s ‘class’ performance was the driving force of the Tottenham comeback, with Pape Matar Sarr also earning plaudits against Villa.
Despite securing the three points, Morgan Rogers’ first-half goal will leave a small cloud over Tottenham’s victory, as the Englishman’s goal once again highlighted a problem that has been plaguing Spurs for some time now.
A so-called ‘weakness’ that has been spotted by the likes of Frank Lampard and Roy Keane.
What did Frank Lampard say about Tottenham?
Having fallen behind in the 32nd minute, Tottenham were once again on the receiving end of another set-piece goal, as Rogers tapped home from close range.
Speaking on the SkySports panel at half-time, Lampard honed Tottenham’s struggles when it comes to defending set pieces.
“That’s the worst thing about it [set-pieces playing players’ minds] definitely. It’s the mindset and the mentality and the nerves it can bring because we’re all talking about it and the players will talk about it.
“Some of the best things about set-pieces for me is doing the simple things well. You talk about a good delivery into the right area, that’s a good thing attacking wise. Defending it, taking your own personal responsibility, that one was a tough one.
“I just felt the goalkeeper allowed himself to be so unbalanced through all the movement of it and he understands he’ll be getting that every game now, people are gonna get in your way. So maybe Tottenham, I think it’s a weakness they haven’t quite put right.”
Roy Keane echoes Tottenham set piece concern
Lampard was not the only pundit to put a spotlight on Tottenham’s weakness at set pieces with Keane also criticising Postecoglou’s side.
“Good delivery, you know they’re going to hit the right areas, they’ve got a lot of big strong physical players. Again we question the goalkeeper and Spurs in general. Maybe it’s a mindset, they know they’re in trouble.”
Keane’s quotes resonated with supporters as Spurs fans themselves criticised Guglielmo Vicario’s set-piece defending.
| Most set-piece goals conceded in last two PL seasons | |
| Nottingham Forest | 24 |
| Tottenham | 20 |
| Wolves | 19 |
Tottenham will undoubtedly be on cloud nine following their win against Villa, but their set-piece struggles must be addressed if they want to cement their place in the Champions League spots this season.
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