Long diagonal passing opened up a narrow opponent, but Gylfi Sigurdsson in space made the final score Tottenham 2-2 Everton.

A narrow Everton team were opened up by Tottenham’s use of long diagonal passing. However, space left between the lines by a makeshift defensive midfield saw Gylfi Sigurdsson continually influence the match. The result ended up being Tottenham 2-2 Everton as each team deserved a share of the points.

Dangerous diagonals

A curious twist to the team sheets saw Eric Dier named as a centre back alongside Toby Alderweireld. Increasing the eyebrow raising was seeing Dier play the left-sided centre back role. Alderweireld has always operated there in the absence of Jan Vertonghen, but Mauricio Pochettino had a plan. The Tottenham boss used both his centre backs to continually spray long diagonal passes out to the full backs and wide midfielders on the opposite side.

The tactic was effective as Everton lined up extremely narrow in the defensive phase. The Toffees pinched in their wide players to take away the centre of the pitch. Tottenham therefore continually went over this to find the free players out on the flanks.

Kyle Walker-Peters free against a narrow defence.

The tactic...