Ferencváros manager Pascal Jansen has offered some words of advice to former club AZ Alkmaar as they get set to take on Tottenham Hotspur.
Voetbal International have an interview with the Dutch coach today and explains how he thinks Tottenham can be got behind “with your eyes closed”.
Tottenham host Alkmaar in the Europa League this evening in matchday three of the new eight game league stage of the competition.
They’ve already secured six points from six to date, with a 3-0 win over Qarabag FK at the end of September before beating Ferencváros 2-1 away from home on 3 October.
Alkmaar have had a somewhat more mixed start to their European campaign, starting with a 3-2 win over IF Elsborg in their opening game before a 2-0 defeat to Athletic Club in matchday two.
They head to Tottenham as the underdogs for the game, with Ange Postecoglou’s side very much considered the favourites.
They’ve continued their attacking approach under Ange Postecoglou this season, largely to great success but sometimes to big defeats.
That was the case before the international break as they fell to a 3-2 defeat to Brighton despite being 2-0 up in that game. That turnaround showed some of the weaknesses of their system and Jansen has pointed out where they can be exploited after playing against it himself.
“They apply extremely deep pressure at the front, which can cause problems when building up from behind. We also provoked their high pressure a bit,” he said.
“At times we managed to take advantage of the spaces created. If you manage to get out from under their initial pressure, you can then go in different directions, thanks to the spaces that then become exposed.
“Between the lines and behind their high defence. Then you can almost put the ball behind their defence from midfield with your eyes closed. Especially if you have speed at the front.”
