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Igor Tudor has explained the reason he was forced into a late tactical rethink ahead of Tottenham Hotspur’s trip to Anfield.
Tottenham Hotspur earned a vital point in their quest to avoid relegation when they travelled to Anfield to take on Liverpool.
Igor Tudor’s men found themselves a goal down for large spells of the game following Dominik Szoboszlai’s free-kick, one that Guglielmo Vicario should have done better to save.
However, a resilient Spurs side showed some much-needed fight and secured a point despite the difficult circumstances they came into the game in.
Igor Tudor explains Tottenham tactical change before Liverpool draw
Thirteen senior players were unavailable for selection for Tudor against Liverpool, and that prompted a sudden change in approach, according to the Spurs boss.
We saw Souza, a left-back by trade, featuring on the right wing as Tudor – who prefers a much narrower setup with two strikers – was forced to adapt.
Speaking to football.london, the Tottenham boss explained how late changes to his squad forced him to alter both the team and the system without proper preparation.
He said: “We were preparing one training session with Conor [Gallagher] in the middle, and other solutions, but we needed to change today, so it was a system, it was a team putting in without training.
“Let’s say, two, three positions were changed, because it totally happened like this, you know, you prepare two trainings, then in the morning the team you didn’t prepare, because someone is out, so this, again, to repeat, is even more value of this victory to the guys.
“Congratulations to the guys, they were happy there also, you know, team spirit, that was the key of this point.”
Spurs point relieves pressure on Igor Tudor after difficult start
The Tottenham boss came into the game under immense pressure following his run of four defeats in a row.
It was reported that Tudor could have been sacked after the Liverpool game had he suffered a defeat, as Spurs aim to avoid the drop.
The Croat instead earned his first point in the Premier League and ended the run of four defeats following a difficult first month as boss.
Speaking about what it meant to finally pick up a point in the league, Tudor admitted the result brought relief and gave the players a boost in confidence.
Reflecting on the moment, the Tottenham manager said: “Nice! Nice, some fresh air, some good things for the confidence of the players, everyone again around the club and especially the fans.
“Good team spirit, seeing the circumstances the team was in today, coming here at Anfield with 12 [outfield] players, what we already know.
“So this is something big, we stayed in the game, we believed, I felt that we could score the goal, the players also felt it, so, ok, it’s nice.”
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