Chapter 85: Rotation
Sky Sports: "The man of the moment was undoubtedly Totti, with the 38-year-old captain of the Red Wolves setting the record today.
But England's rising star Harry Kane's brace helped Tottenham secure a win! ”
Roma Sport: "A round of applause to Totti! The 38-year-old captain scored a record in the Champions League but was unfortunate to be able to help the visitors walk away from Wembley. ”
Tottenham fans' initial fears about Benjamin's Champions League arrival have also disappeared after the team's two consecutive wins.
Benjamin is not happy as they host the next round of Premier League fixtures at home this weekend.
Despite giving Dembele a medical card to catch up with the next game, out of an abundance of caution, Benjamin decided to let the Belgian recuperate.
It's not just Dembele, his injury is a wake-up call for Benjamin.
The schedule is intense and intense, and injuries to players are inevitable.
The only thing he can do as a manager is to let the players get as much rest as possible and not get tired of playing.
Whether to rotate or not, and how to rotate, is actually a science, and many head coaches, and even some famous coaches, can't understand it.
Some managers like to rigidly play a lineup, not only do they not like rotation, but they are not even willing to replace a substitute player to let the main team come down early to rest after the game is confirmed.
It's not completely out of the ordinary, and if the eleven key players can stay healthy and injury-free for a season, then the consistency of the squad does help the team's results.
In particular, the main players are generally the strongest eleven in the team.
But is it possible?
Needless to say, the Premier League's strong teams often need to face fourth-line battles, and three games in seven days and four games in ten days all happen from time to time.
No matter how strong and physical a player is, he can't withstand such pressure.
And once a player is physically and mentally fatigued, then it is normal for a player to be in poor condition on the field, deformed movements, and even injured.
The most common example of this is Arsene Wenger's Gunners, who often started the season with excellent results.
And once we enter the end of the year with an extremely busy schedule, Arsenal will always have a large number of injuries that cause the situation to take a turn for the worse.
But even if it is to be rotated, how to rotate can ensure that the strength of the team is not too affected and the results of the game will not deteriorate on the premise of allowing all the main players to rest as much as possible, it depends on the ability of the head coach.
Unlike domestic cup competitions, where you can simply rotate all players and substitute on the youngsters, Tottenham has played three consecutive games in the Premier League and the Champions League.
Whether to continue to let the main players play in the next round of the league, Benjamin was hesitant.
However, Dembele's injury happened "in time", although it is said that the probability of others being injured is much smaller than his.
But Benjamin didn't want to take that risk, and there was no need to take it, and he wasn't useless.
Bam Adebayo, whose attitude has improved greatly, finally got the chance to start again in the Premier League after several months.
Son Heung-min and Townsend are on the left and right.
Frank Lampard, Alex Sandro and Milinkovic play in midfield.
Left-back Ben Davies, right-back Joao Cancelo, centre-back Cabourg partnered Demichelis, goalkeeper Alisson.
It's really a comprehensive rotation of eleven people, and even the bench doesn't have a main force.
Anyone who sees this squad of Tottenham Hotspur has to sigh with emotion: Benjamin's talent is bold.
Benjamin is hesitant about the position of Millin, not to mention anything else, Tottenham Hotspur also has Mason, Bentarab and other young academy players.
At this time, Milinkovic's strength is similar to them, and the strength is limited, so it stands to reason that "their own people" should be given more opportunities.
However, considering the future development, whether it is Bentaleb or Mason, the potential is far inferior to that of the Serbs.
Therefore, Benjamin decided to start Millin in the hope that he can grow as soon as possible through more opportunities.
On the other hand, today's opponent Southampton, because Benjamin struck first, snatched Mane and Alderweireld, who were supposed to play for the opposite side.
But Benjamin gave them a head coach back!
Had it not been for Benjamin's appearance, Pochettino would have bid farewell to the Saints in favour of Tottenham at the end of last season.
Although the Argentine led the team to Southampton last season with good results, and several clubs did want to hire him to coach, after all, it was not enough for the giants to take a fancy to him.
Rather than leaving Southampton for a mid-table team of the same calibre, it's better to stay.
So now Pochettino has not left the Saints, and has further gained the trust of the club's hierarchy by leading the Saints to an eighth place in the league last season.
Although the Argentine central defender Fazio, who was bought by the team, did not adapt to the Premier League quickly.
But Southampton still managed to do well in Pochettino's hands.
After the first six rounds, the Saints have accumulated 13 points with four wins, one draw and one loss, ranking third in the standings behind Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, two London teams, and the momentum is positive.
"Does it really matter? Southampton's strength is not weak, our squad is ......
It's okay to win, but if you lose, you must say that you are too underestimated. ”
Regarding the assistant's concern, Benjamin signaled the other party to calm down.
"Don't worry so much, don't worry, we can win."
From the start of the game, although Pochettino's side played away from home, they did not have any stage fright and started the game with a sense of pressure.
Tottenham Hotspur is not surprised by the visitors' high pressing and fast attack, as early as the pre-match preparation meeting, manager Benjamin has already analysed it in detail with them.
As for whether they understood it or not, and how much they understood, it's hard to say.
In the midfield confrontation, Milinkovic, a Serbian teenager, lost his way in the ferocious defence of Schneiderling and Wanyama.
It was under Mauricio Pochettino's guidance that Frenchman Schneiderlin really developed into a well-rounded and outstanding midfielder.
However, Benjamin already has N'Golo Kante and has little idea about the French midfielder, who has only had a brief highlight.
Tadic broke down the right and played the ball to Shaun Long, who was unable to block the pass for the first time, but was then disrupted by the Tottenham full-back when he tried to pass to Pelle again.
If memory serves, this is another "Super League celebrity", and Pelle made a lot of money during his time at Luneng.
Bertrand crossed from the left, Schneiderlin's long-range shot hit Kaboul and bounced off the line.
Southampton's corner goes into the box and Demichelis heads it clear.
Tottenham then launched a counter-attack, and Son Heung-min's dribble break down the left was broken off the touchline by Klein.
After coming to Tottenham, his strength has improved rapidly, in addition to the role of the training card, it is inseparable from Son Xingmin's own efforts.
However, it may take some time for South Koreans to adapt to the Premier League.
Townsend fired a powerful shot from outside the arc of the penalty area in the middle, Foster couldn't fully hold the ball, and the ball grazed the post!
If you don't look at it, it's no wonder that Southampton has had an outstanding record in the past two seasons.
At the end of the season, Schneiderlin went to Manchester United for 35 million, Klein for 17 million to Liverpool, and Pelle for 15 million to Luneng for the next season.
Well, all of them are players with strength and fame.
Just as Benjamin was thinking about these boring things, Tottenham finally rewrote the scoreline.
Bam Adebayor broke down the left and crossed to Son Heung-min, who was back down the middle, for the South Korean to pass to Lampard with ease.
Frank Lampard couldn't have missed such an opportunity, as the Blues' all-time goalscorer got home with a powerful shot!
Tottenham 1-0 Southampton.