Why Spurs were allowed to make SIX substitutions against Leicester thanks to new law
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou made six changes during their draw at Leicester with the IFAB rule changes around concussion protocols granting him an extra sub
Tottenham made six substitutes during Monday night's draw at Leicester with IFAB's rules around concussion allowing for an extra change.
Ange Postecoglou was seeking a winner in the final moments of the clash at the King Power and made a double change in stoppage time. Richarlison was bought on for Son-Heung min and Djed Spence for Pedro Porro - which took them to six subs.
Usually Premier League clubs are only permitted to make five during a game, but top flight bosses agreed to trial the IFAB recommended rules on concussion changes several years ago - with a view to adding extra measures to protect players from suffering neurological injuries after sustaining head injuries. They are also designed to ensure teams are not at a numerical disadvantage.
This means Tottenham, for example, were able to make a maximum of two extra concussion substitutes during a match, on top of the five tactical substitutions they can make, if a player sustains a head injury and has symptoms of concussion - which was the case with Rodrigo Bentancur.
The midfielder was knocked out after clashing heads with Leicester's Abdul Fatawu while attacking a corner with 20 minutes remaining - leading him to need oxygen. He would be replaced by Archie Gray, making his debut after his summer switch from Leeds.
The teenager came on in the 78th minute but, with Tottenham seeking a winner, Postecoglou also made three further changes. He bought Timo Werner, Dejan Kulusevski and Lucas Bergvall onto the pitch - before making his two stoppage time changes - taking them to six.
Tottenham though couldn't find the winner that their dominance, particularly in the first-half, perhaps deserved. Porro headed home a James Maddison cross to give them the lead at the break, but new signing Dominic Solanke will have been frustrated to miss certain chances.
Jamie Vardy's second-half header ensured the Foxes got themselves a share of the spoils on their return to the top flight with the Tottenham boss left to bemoan his team's wasteful nature.
He said: "[It was a] disappointing outcome. Very dominant first half, really wasteful in front of goal. First 15-20 minutes we were very dominant, wasteful but you know at 1-0 there is always an opportunity for the opposition to come back into the game. That's what happened and we lost our way for 15 or 20 minutes.
"We lost our composure and the crowd got behind them, but again finished strong. [I'm] just really disappointed we lacked a little cutting edge in the front third, made some poor decisions, lacked some composure and didn't get the reward our football deserved."
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