Tottenham head into the September international break on the back of their first Premier League defeat of the 2024/24 season after losing 2-1 at Newcastle United.
Alexander Isak’s late winner secured victory for the hosts on Tyneside as Spurs failed to recover in the dying minutes and Eddie Howe secured a third successive home win against Spurs.
Postecoglu will have plenty to think about in the coming weeks and his midfield remains a source of concern for the Australian.
Tottenham stuck to a 4-3-3 formation for the opening three games of the campaign, but Postcoglu played with a different midfield three in each game, with James Maddison the only player to start all three.
Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma each started twice, the duo anchoring behind Maddison at St. James’ Park, and Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur each started once.
Newcastle have won the midfield battle in a vital area, as the latest post-match data from FotMob indicates that Maddison and Bissouma only won 50% and 56% of their ground duels respectively.
In contrast, Sarr won 83%, but Newcastle’s central players were more combative, with Sean Longstaff at 63% and 100% in aerial duels.
It shows the gap between Newcastle and Spurs’ midfielders, with Bruno Guimaraes making eight ball recoveries and Joelinton five, the same number as Sarr.
The most likely solution for Postecogul will be a return to a 4-2-3-1 system with Sarr and Bissouma playing deeper, to provide more solidity, and Maddison released into a more traditional number 10 role.
Tottenham’s first game back after the international break is a derby against Arsenal on September 15.