Match of the Day pundit Martin Keown has claimed Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino will be sweating over the team’s set-piece frailties ahead of their clash against Inter Milan.
Spurs were subjected to a loss at Wembley on Saturday thanks to goals from Georginio Wijnaldum and Roberto Firmino, and Keown has identified the one thing that will be concerning the manager.
Keown believes that he must be worried about the fact that the Lilywhites have been conceding goals from set pieces, as three out of the last four that have been let in have have been headers from set pieces.
He also laid into second choice keeper Michel Vorm, who he thinks was to blame for both Liverpool goals at the weekend.
“Mauricio Pochettino will also be concerned that three of the last four goals Spurs have conceded have been headers from set-pieces,” he wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.
“Goalkeeper Michel Vorm was at fault for Liverpool’s first goal on Saturday. Milner’s corner was aimed at Virgil van Dijk, who was being marshalled by Vertonghen. With the defender preoccupied, Vorm needed to be more commanding and decisively punch the ball clear.
“When Spurs are up against the best sides, they need to cut out these sloppy goals.”
OPINION
If there is one thing that should be concerning Pochettino following this loss, it is what Keown has just pointed out. Conceding most of their goals from set pieces is rather alarming, especially when they have the likes of Jan Vertonghen in the centre of defence. Pochettino needs to address this issue imminently, as it could have an awful effect when they play bigger teams like Liverpool. They were lucky that Manchester United did not exploit them for this, but teams like Chelsea will do exactly that. Spurs need to be defending a lot tighter in set pieces, and fingers crossed that they will learn their lesson in time for when they travel to the South Coast and face Brighton this weekend. The Seagulls have a habit of catching big teams out – and Tottenham must ensure that they are not one of them, and prove their doubters wrong.