Tottenham need Christian Eriksen to dominate Manchester United

Tottenham have won their opening two matches without a great performance from Christian Eriksen. That must change at Manchester United.

If Spurs are going to emerge from Old Trafford with three points on Monday they will need quality performances from quite a few players. Mauricio Pochettino needs more than that from Christian Eriksen. He’ll need a brilliant match from his Danish maestro to slay Jose Mourinho’s troops.

It’s not that Eriksen has been poor in Tottenham’s opening two matches of the campaign, it’s just that he hasn’t played up to his usual standards. The talented midfielder doesn’t have a goal or an assist yet this season, but that isn’t cause for alarm. The real issue with Eriksen’s play on the young season is that he hasn’t been overly influential for his side.

On one hand, Spurs supporters should admire the fact that he hasn’t been forced to dominate the ball. Dele Alli continues to become a better playmaker in the midfield. The emergence of Lucas Moura as a quality attacker has further diversified Pochettino’s attack. Both players have taken the ball away from Eriksen for long stretches this year.

On the other hand, there are matches where Eriksen needs to step up and grab the game by the scruff of the neck. The fixture at Manchester United is one of those games. It’s expected that Mourinho will deploy both Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic in an attempt to suffocate the Spurs midfield. That will force Eriksen to play one of his best matches to push his side on to victory.

Obviously, Eriksen doesn’t have the physical strength, stature or speed to simply blow by United’s midfield. He’ll need to use his touch and skill on the ball to pull defenders out of position. When he’s playing his best football, he’s able to drop deep and dictate play with his precise passing. That’s precisely what he’ll need to do on Monday.

Tottenham supporters should watch Eriksen closely during the match’s opening moments to see where he tries to operate. If he tries to run forward into the teeth of the United defence he’ll get swallowed up and taken out of the match. If he gets time and space on the ball in front of their defenders, it will bode very well for Spurs.

None of this means Eriksen has to find a goal. In fact, he doesn’t even need to notch an assist to dominate this match. He simply needs to be the man who initiates the Tottenham attack. If he can’t manage to heavily influence the encounter, Spurs will struggle to break down Mourinho’s conservative defence. If he does, Tottenham could be returning to North London with three points.