After their draining dismantling on Merseyside last week, probably the last opponents City would have liked to face would have been in-form Tottenham Hotspur. Famous recently for ending Chelsea’s long winning run and temporarily halting what will inevitably be their march to the title, Spurs have been a difficult team for City to handle of late, seemingly parading all of the key skills that in recent weeks have been absent from the Blues.
The Spurs line-up includes many Englishmen, making them in some ways, Stretford excluded, the darlings of the English media. They ooze pace and power and in Kane and Alli, goals. With some of City’s aging superstars either in or heading for the twilight of their careers, Spurs would no doubt have targeted this match as another opportunity to lay down their marker.
Guardiola, smarting from his team’s lack of effort last week, and with the vultures circling on the grades, knew he needed to pull a rabbit out of the hat and set his own stall out to combat Spurs pace and power with pace and power of his own.
At the back it was back to the bench for Stones and Sagna with Zabaleta resuming at full back and Kolarov returned to centre back. Otamendi and Clichy made up the back four. In front it, it looked like Yaya would be pitching his wits against Wanyama and Dembele, a tall order for the Ivorian Commander, but today he was assisted by De Bruyne. Sterling and Sane who were to provide the pace on the flanks with Silva in behind the inevitable Aguero.
Spurs went with a back three with Walker and Rose intended to provide width, pace and power, pushing ahead to feed Kane and Alli.
Tottenham are not afraid to bully teams. Their tackling can be a little lean and they are not afraid to take chances and take one for their team. City today got out of the blocks in a fashion we have not seen since the Barcelona match and in using Sterling and Sane in the spaces behind Rose and Walker, Spurs had to quickly adapt as their own threat was nullified.
This week the Blue tidal wave threatened to sweep aside the safest defence in the Barclays Premier League and Yaya and De Bruyne pinned back their raids from midfield, forcing fouls and poor tackles to the extent that City carved them open on occasions failing always, once again, to breach the stubborn defence or beat Lloris.
Chances fell in abundance to Aguero, Sterling, Sane, De Bruyne, Otamendi and Silva, as you would expect they would, but nobody offered up the power and accuracy to get on the scoresheet. Even Zaba got clear on the edge of the Spurs box, but a chance that Aguero would maybe have accepted was spurned by the defender.
Sterling, in particular, could have had a hat trick but his reluctance to back himself on his left foot saw a number of chances boxed off when it looked easier to trouble the scorers. Silva brought an excellent save from Lloris, Sane twice went close, but Aguero never really looked a threat, although his closing down provided a higher level of mistakes from the Spurs team and meant much of City’s play started higher up the field. This forced fouls from Tottenham’s defenders and midfielders. Wimmer and Dier, without ceremony checked out threats from City players.
Sterling’s pace was causing problems and there were two close calls for penalties but Andre Marriner thought Raheem hit the grass too early. In the absence of any of this type of help, City were to be forced to try to score the hard way.
The first half was a procession of chances for City and despite Guardiola almost begging his side to be more clinical in front of goal, there was little sign of a breach. Spurs would have been happier to stumble to the break at 0-0. Lloris had been called upon once or twice to produce saves and did so when called upon.
After the break strange things started to happen. I have often heralded Lloris as a model goalkeeper, but first off, the strength of the City press forced him into errors, conceding throw-ins high up the field. Then almost inexplicably he assisted in two ways that lead me to think that maybe Bravo had stayed down that end for the second half.
Pochettino replaced Wimmer with Son as Dier dropped into the defensive line, but it was City who took control once again after the restart. Because of Spurs shape, City were not only able to use the space behind the full backs, but it meant that the passing from Yaya and De Bruyne could now be in a straighter line and at times even direct. Before the second half was five minutes old the effervescent Sane found himself in on goal. Lloris tried to execute a diving header but only succeeded in reverting it to Sane who accepted and scored.
If ever a goal was to change the atmosphere this was it, but could City keep a clean sheet? Shortly thereafter it looked as if it didn`t matter as another piece of comical goalkeeping again opened the door for City. Alli had already been cautioned for pushing over Otamendi, an offence which would have no doubt summoned a card of a different colour had that been committed by City. Sterling played in an ineffective cross which is normally bread and butter for Lloris but the Nicois became a Nice man and let it spill to a Belgian, De Bruyne who pounced to score.
Surely at 2-0 City would be safe? Well not this City. Bravo had hardly seen the ball all afternoon, but from absolutely nowhere, Spurs broke down the right, eased themselves passed Clichy (you are the weakest link?Good-bye) and the cross was easily met by the unattended Alli. The cross skimmed Kolarov’s head which may have helped but there was no chance that Bravo would have got to it anyway because his starting position was not good. This was their first attempt on goal and did nothing for Bravo’s statistics. This was a move that Spurs have used a lot lately, scoring two identical goals against Chelsea which begs the question..do they not look at the videos?
City went back on offence and with Aguero cutting in from a wide position, he too was denied a penalty by Marriner. A minute later Sterling outstripped the Spurs defence but Rose’s tackle was good.
However, after 76 minutes Sterling was once again in the clear and was clearly pushed from behind this time by Walker. He stayed on his feet and got off some kind of shot, but the chance had gone and Spurs got away with it. It should definitely have been a penalty and a red card for Walker.
And then as always seems to happen, the ball went down the other end. Eriksen played the ball into the box, Kane, making his only contribution to this match flicked it on and Son, again unattended found time and space to steer the ball into the net. So the hapless Bravo once again faces two shots on target and both of them enter the net. Again his starting position here didn’t leave him with much chance, but I would have fancied both Hart and Caballero to keep this one out.
By now I had already advocated Sterling off and Gabriel Jesus on. Sterling had missed so many chances to have this match won, we needed to see something different and perhaps unpredictable. It took Guardiola until the 82nd minute to introduce his new start and what an impact he made.
With Spurs in the ascendancy now, Jesus started to lead them a right dance down City’s left. First he skinned Walker and sent in a daisy cutter of a cross but there was no-one home to tap it in. Next his header went just over the corner of the post and bar and finally he was there to turn De Bruyne’s cross into the net, his short cameo ruined by a linesman’s offside flag. Quite why he can spot a half-inch offside but not a foul on Sterling by Walker remains one of life’s mysteries. You can bet if it was Rooney or Ibrahimovic, it would have been allowed.
So the game ended 2-2. I suppose at the start and against the backdrop of last weekend we would have taken that, but to sacrifice a 2-0 lead to a team that weren’t in the match at all left us going home feeling as though we had either lost or been treated unjustly. With the other results of the day going City’s way, a win would have left City on equal points with Spurs and Liverpool, today somehow beaten by Swansea , much to dear Susan’s chagrin and also put distance between City and the Stretfords who once again claimed a scruffy draw at a time when they should have been in the showers.
There were at least a number of positives today. City played with much more conviction and Spurs formation allowed them to put a big stamp on this match. De Bruyne started deeper and added more energy to the drives forward allowing Yaya to sit deeper. Yaya was imperious against Wanyama and Dembele although Wanyama did have to take up a centre back role when Spurs lost Alderweireld early in the second half.
With Silva finding spaces in the holes he was able to create more, but nobody was able to accept the chances creates. Sterling was electric in terms of pace but City once had a pace merchant called Huckerby who was once described by a TV pundit as “a motor boat with no driver”. This is quite a good way to describe Sterling. As I said he could have taken the ball home.
De Bruyne was given Man of the Match by BT Sport but for me it was a joy to watch Leroy Sane. This guy has got the lot. Pace, power, thought, commitment?.oh and a goal! I would have selected him as MVP.
At the back, City looked quite solid but once again the stats show that Spurs had 2 shots on target and both of them went in. This time both came down Clichy’s channel and at least the first should have been cleared before Clichy let the wideman get the ball. He also wasn’t quick enough to spoil Eriksen’s chances of getting in the key cross for the equaliser. Surely someone like Angelino couldn’t do any worse? Clichy has been instrumental in four goals conceded in the last week, but equally the defence can play as well as it did today and still let in goals because it never looks as though Bravo has a save in him.
I’ve seen enough in Jesus’ cameo to suggest he’s going to be interesting and already I have glimpsed the reasons he is compared in the style of Neymar. Sane is a must for future team selections after this exceptional display. This in some ways leaves Sterling and even Aguero looking vulnerable. I believe that had some of Sterling’s chances fallen to Jesus he would have buried the lot.
The City roadshow moves back to the capital next week for a soujourn into the FA Cup against Crystal Palace before their return to the London Stadium for a League match against West Ham, resurgent yesterday. After that we face Swansea who are not Sue’s favourite team today!
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