| Match report
Spurs were put to the sword,
but were still in the game until the last twenty minutes, when they
went to pieces and conceded three more to end up losing 4-1, with
Eriksen notching a late consolation. it was little consolation
for a poor performance that failed to trouble the runaway leaders,
but it flagged up some of the issues we have had in recent weeks and
once more showed that we need to do better against the top sides, as
taking points off them will make any challenge we hope to make that
much more effective.
Sissoko, Lamela and Aurier
dropped out of the side to be replaced by Trippier, Dembele and
Dele, with a side set up with a back four and a solid two in front
with Winks joining Mousa. The problem would lie in the speed
of transition through the lines to create openings that would hurt
City.
The first few minutes were
characterised by free-kicks being given either way. Out of them all,
only Kevin de Bruyne signalled to the ref that a yellow card should
be shown when he was fouled by Dembele. The stuttering start was a
result of both sides closing down and pressing the other.
Jan Vertonghen was alert when Sane took on Trippier and his low ball
into the near post was blocked away by the Belgian defender. Shortly
after that a foul by Rose gave de Bruyne a chance to play it into
the near post, where Aguero stooped to head at goal and it went a
yard wide, as City enjoyed a spell around the Spurs 18 yard line.
It was bad marking from a corner that gave City the lead, with
Gundogan strolling into the box and heading past Lloris from the
penalty spot to make Tottenham’s task even harder than it would have
been. Set pieces have been our undoing and against a side like City
in the form they are in, it was the last thing we needed. It added
to the test that everyone had said that this would be for us.
Spurs maintained their shape with Son and Kane in attack, with the
ball still being played out by Lloris rather than resorting to long
clearances. Rose was lucky when he had two hands in Mangala’s back
and it could have been a penalty, but it prefaced a period of City
sharp passing and Aguero had a shot that Lloris beat out, the Hugo
pushed out another effort from the argentine striker, but
unconvincingly so and he was fortunate that a team-mate was
centrally placed a few yards out to clear the ball. As City sprayed
the ball around, Sane broke into the box, but a heavy touch took it
into Lloris and then Sterling had a shot over the bar from inside
the box.
Tottenham’s first shot in anger came in the 35th minute, when Kane
tried to bend one in from the left, but it went a couple of feet
wide, with Ederson struggling. Harry was in the wars again, when he
mis-controlled the ball that popped up and Otamendi kicked him in
the face with a high boot, which brought a booking for the defender.
Spurs broke onto a long forward ball by Dier and Eriksen almost
found Dele with a ball into the six yard box, but Ederson got there
first and the home team broke with Aguero getting the ball in the
Spurs box, firing in a shot that struck Rose’s arm as he threw
himself in to block the ball, but a penalty wasn’t given and rightly
so.
It hadn’t been a great performance by Spurs, but at 0-1 at the
break, they were still in it. The defending needed to be tighter and
the movement of the ball quicker to pose City some problems. Their
defence didn’t look invincible, so Tottenham needed to test them
more rigorously.
Twice at the start of the half Rose was bundled over without a free
kick given and it lead to a move that gave City a corner, which
Mangala won, but not to any effect. There was a glimmer of a chance
when Kane lifted a cross from the left to Son, but Sane got back to
deny him a shot. Spurs got a break on when Winks upended Fernandinho,
but the ref waved play on and it ended with Kane playing a through
ball too hard for Son to get onto. When Delph fouled Trippier and
got a yellow card, the free kick was cleared and when it came out
Kane fouled Sterling, but even though Pawson had his back to it, he
gave a free kick and booked Harry. Spurs were snapping into the
tackles and had a long period of possession that led to Kane firing
a shot at goal from 20 yards that Ederson had to dive and push past
the post.
Guardiola brought on Jesus for Aguero and he almost made an
immediate impact with a cross coming in from the right that Lloris
got to just before him, then Ederson’s pass out to the right wing
saw the ball played right to Sane, who lashed his shot well wide.
There was a series of poor passes out from the back, with Hugo
passing to Jan, but putting the ball behind him and nearly conceding
a corner, then when it eventually came back to Vertonghen, he sliced
it into the crowd. We had been caught out here before trying to play
out from the back, but the City pressing was putting the pressure on
us to hurry our passes, which led to mistakes.
Rose made a good tackle on Sterling on the edge of the box as he
looked to move forward and when Sane came inside. His shot was well
kept out by Lloris, but it dropped right in front of goal to
Sterling, who skied it over the bar. Dele got a yellow for a foul on
de Bruyne, having touched the ball first before his momentum
carrying over it into the City man’s ankle, with Dembele already
gone into the book for a string of fouls through the match.
City won the ball on the edge of their own box when Kane let the
ball get away from him, de Bruyne was released on the left and he
ran Dier into the box and unleashed a fierce shot that Hugo got a
hand to, but could not prevent hitting the roof of the net for 2-0.
Winks was having trouble playing the ball forward, as City were
shutting down space while Dembele was slow on the ball and too
easily dispossessed. It forced a rash tackle from Vertonghen on de
Bruyne when he was in the box conceding a penalty. Jesus took it and
hit the foot of Lloris’ right hand post, with it rebounding into the
centre of the box, where Sterling ran in to power the ball over the
bar.
Lamela almost made an impact when he came on, with a low cross that
dropped for Winks, who had to dribble the ball across the face of
goal and could have gone down but stayed on his feet and eventually
was barged off the ball by de Bruyne. But it was a simple robbing
off Dembele that left de Bruyne to run at Spurs and the ball was
played out to the left, where his low ball picked out Sterling at
the far post to tap the ball in from close range.
City sub Berbado Silva almost got on the score-sheet when he struck
a shot at Lloris’ near post from their left and Hugo just got s
touch onto it to take it onto the foot of the post. Hugo had to be
on his toes when a Spurs move broke down with Lamela being taken out
off the ball, with the keeper tipping the shot from Sterling over
the bar at full stretch.
When Dier missed the ball on the edge of his own box, Sterling took
the ball past Hugo by nudging it through his legs and ran the ball
in for 4-0. By then it didn’t really matter but the goal difference
took a bit of battering. That was eased a little when Eriksen
got the ball and ran from right to left across the 18 yard line,
firing an early shot with his left foot to Ederson’s left that beat
him and settled in the corner. It didn’t affect the outcome, but
showed what they need to do when playing the top six sides.
The passing and movement was a lesson to Tottenham about what they
have to try and achieve. It is like Barcelona’s play, working hard
off the ball and when they haven’t got it, behind the ball to win it
back. That hard work shows what can be created, much like we did to
Stoke last week, although City are on a different level to us.
The indecision on the ball caused Spurs problems throughout the
game. It was City’s closing down that caused some of it, but when
Spurs were in possession in space, they failed to make the most of
the ball that they had. With poor movement off the ball to try and
counter the pressing game, they caused few problems for the home
defence, with the ball coming back and back. It wasn’t just
individual mistakes, but a team collective just wasn’t working
today. Ederson only had one save to make and the City back line
would not have had an easier day out all season. It wasn’t that we
were sitting back to try and stop them scoring, it was just we
weren’t able to penetrate at all and players were sloppy on the ball
and with it. Maybe we were too open, but City have dismantled teams
who try to park the bus, so what do you do ?
Last season we took four points from City, when we finished second.
This season we can’t live with them, as they head for the title
before the sound of Jingle Bells fades.
Newton St.
John |
