The midfield Mourinho must use to secure Tottenham Champions League football

The most successful dribbles in RB Leipzig's 1-0 win at Tottenham on Wednesday night was four. Angelino and Giovani Lo Celso both achieved the feat in their 90 minutes on the pitch with Tanguy Ndombele matching the pair, this despite playing around half an hour in north London. 

The Frenchman ended the game with a WhoScored rating of 6.75, that the fifth highest of all Spurs players, as the Premier League outfit failed to break the RB Leipzig resolve having gone 1-0 down through a Timo Werner second half penalty. It leaves Spurs with a mountain to climb in Germany next month, but with Peter Gulacsi ending the encounter as the WhoScored man of the match with a rating of 8.02, they are more than capable of testing the German side's number one even without Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min. 

Head coach Jose Mourinho has previously praised Spurs' club-record signing, yet his sole start following his return from injury came in their 3-2 FA Cup replay win over Southampton at the beginning of the month, with Mourinho opting to use Gedson Fernandes in midfield from the off in midweek. However, the loss gave supporters another glimpse of, arguably, their most talented midfielder. 

Spurs fans are eager to see more and more of Ndombele, even with his ongoing fitness issues. The youngster's general shape has been called into question in recent weeks, while the former Lyon man looked to be running on fumes by full time in midweek, despite coming on with just 30 minutes to play. It's a concern that needs to be rectified if he is to live up to hefty price tag, but each time Ndombele plays, Spurs look a far more dangerous side going forward. 

Indeed, Mourinho's approach in the first half in particular was called into question on Wednesday night as Spurs looked to hurt RB Leipzig via long balls over the top and down the flanks to maximise the speed of Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn and while it's a style that almost paid off, with the latter forcing a good stop from Gulacsi, it wasn't until Werner put RB Leipzig ahead that the home side began to dominate. 

Six of their 12 shots came with Ndombele on the pitch as Spurs wrestled for control of the match in the latter stages of the Champions League clash and, had it not been for a couple of fine stops by Gulacsi and a injury-time Lucas Moura header over the bar, their late dominance would've reaped the rewards. 

However, with Mourinho perhaps aiming to transition his side towards a 4-3-3 setup, his midfield three should consist of Ndombele, Harry Winks and Giovani Lo Celso. The trio ranked among Spurs' five top rated players on Wednesday night, with Lo Celso (7.65) top of the pile and Winks (7.03) podiuming in third. Of course, Mourinho's hands have been tied by injuries to Kane and Son, which have impacted his quest to make his mark at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and their push for a Champions League finish. 

Yet, in a 4-3-3, with Winks as the deepest lying of the three, offers Spurs the necessary attacking thrust from midfield to help drive the team forward. Ndombele, as proven on Wednesday night, is more than capable of ghosting past opponents to afford the team another offensive dimension, as too is Lo Celso, while the Argentine adds some bite and tenacity to the midfield to help the team off the ball as well as in possession, as noted in his 2.7 tackles per 90, that second for Spurs in the Premier League this season. 

Winks may not be the perfect holding midfielder by any stretch - the 24-year-old isn't quite the all-action ball winner some managers may favour at the base of a midfield three - but his 70 passes per 90 and 89.5% pass success rate is top of all Spurs players in the Premier League this season and reinforces a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of 'passing'. His performances of late have been impressive to say the least and he affords Spurs the necessary control in the middle of the park that would enable a functional midfield three of the England international, Ndombele and Lo Celso. 

Whether Mourinho looks to do so against Chelsea on Saturday, it remains to be seen, but with a quick turnaround between games a potential season-defining London derby looming, he'll need to rotate, which could benefit Ndombele and allow supporters the opportunity to witness, what is arguably, Spurs' strongest midfield trio.