Craig Dawson’s headed goal on the 73rd minute clipped the wings of high flying Tottenham as their title hopes came to a crushing end.
In a game where they needed to win, Spurs looked short on ideas. Leicester can now wrap up the title as early as next weekend.
Mauricio Pochettino’s players looked nervous in charging forward knowing that they cannot drop points given Leicester’s 4-0 win against Swansea yesterday.
In the end it really hurt Tottenham’s ability to play attractive football and West Brom managed to score a well-deserved equalizer. On the wake of 1-1 draw between the teams, we take a look at the key talking points and things learned from the game at White Hart Lane.
Leicester are certain to win the title now
The gap at the top now stands at 7 points and Leicester could win the title next weekend when they play against Manchester United. Claudio Ranieri’s team would need a win at Old Trafford to wrap up their historic journey, however, even if they fail they will still be the favorites.
Spurs play Chelsea next weekend, which will not be an easy game for them. In the end, it could come down to the game against Everton at King Power the following weekend where Leicester could clinch the most iconic of title wins ever.
Tottenham needed a different approach tonight?
Among many ifs and buts from this season, one question I would have is whether Spurs needed to close out the game tonight instead of playing their beautiful football?
With all the flair play from Tottenham, they bottled in a game when they needed to grind out the result like Leicester have done all season. West Brom were dominating the second half, and yet Spurs looked to play the same flair football which left space between defense and midfield.
Tonight they needed Leicester’s grit & determination to see out the result. Perhaps that is where this season’s title will be won & lost where a team is willing to grind out result than the other.
For Tony Pulis, set piece is like a penalty
No matter how poor West Brom have been this season they have managed to take points off both Tottenham and Leicester in recent weeks. At King Power, they equalized with a set piece and they did the same tonight.
Tony Pulis thrives on making the most of those situations and teams more often than not end up paying the penalty if they concede corners or set plays against Pulis’ team.
Playing the catch-up game got to Spurs?
On numerous instances, Tottenham were made to play after Leicester’s fixtures, which always asked them to play the catch-up. Leicester have hardly dropped points in last 10-12 weeks which always meant that any slip-up from Spurs would surrender their title hopes.
Despite the pressure, Spurs managed to push till the very end, however, they could not close the game out tonight and have now fallen behind in the title race.
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