Palace reaction | Ryan Mason’s tactical insight

Ryan Mason was full of praise for how the players responded to what he described as a ‘tweak’ in tactics both in preparation at Hotspur Way and when it mattered to secure a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday.

Emerson Royal’s return from injury saw Acting Head Coach Ryan bring the Brazilian straight back into the team at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, lining up in a dual role - the right side of a central defensive three in a back five out of possession, then dropping in at right-back in a four in possession, allowing Pedro Porro to raid forward down our right.

It worked to perfection as defensively we kept a clean sheet and Pedro provided the cross for the only the goal of the game, Harry Kane’s winning header in added time of the first half.

Here’s how Ryan explained the line-up to SPURSPLAY - with Ben Davies left side of that defence, Cristian Romero central and Clement Lenglet left of the three and Heung-Min Son playing more left-sided with Richarlison and Harry up front.

Ryan Mason

“We played with similar personnel to who we’ve had recently, but we wanted to engage Palace higher up the pitch, with two strikers and more of a four-man defence. We understood that they have some individual brilliance in the final third, so, for us to try and limit the likes of Zaha, Olise and Eze getting on the ball in the final third, that’s what we wanted to do, and I thought we did that. In different games, different situations, you have to try to adapt, because teams in the Premier League are so good, so fluid, so organised, it’s our job to help the players as much as possible. Today, the little tweak, the players responded, they’ve worked hard all week and deserve all the credit, because for us to try something they haven’t done in a while, the way they responded, they were brave with it and ultimately, we got the result. The full week on the training ground helped us. In that first week, we had no time to work on the training pitch, it was just a case of trying to create a different feeling within the group. To have a week to work, try to help the players, to give them new ideas, a new stimulus, they all responded well, not just the starters, the whole squad. Then, when you get a result, it fills the group with confidence.”

Watch - Ryan's fascinating analysis on SPURSPLAY

More - watch the key highlights