Spurs 0 – 1 Man City

Spurs vs Man City Previous Fixture

Spurs and Man City produced a frantic end-to-end game at Wembley Stadium on Monday night, with the Premier League champions winning the match 1-0.

The solitary goal came in the opening 5 minutes from Riyad Mahrez. It was not a typical free-flowing attacking move from Man City and instead the source came from a clearance by goalkeeper Ederson after Kieran Trippier misjudged the flight of the ball, which allowed Raheem Sterling behind the Spurs defence. The England star did brilliantly well to drive into the Spurs box and unselfishly laid the ball back to Riyad Mahrez. The former Leicester player could not miss and was a fitting goalscorer given the events of the past few days at the King Power Stadium. Mahrez dedicated his strike to Leicester owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.

"The boss (Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha) was very special to me. I spent four and a half years there.

"I have many memories of him. He was such a good person; a good human.

"When I scored, I put my hands up to the sky for him. He did a lot for me and for Leicester."@Mahrez22 pic.twitter.com/PgQaHa4pw8

— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 29, 2018

On a difficult Wembley surface, because of the NFL match which was a day before, Spurs did well to not be blown away by Man City, like so many teams have been by Pep Guardiola’s team. Man City were immediately on the front foot after their goal and only a minute later Sergio Aguero went close but skewed his shot into the side netting.

However that was not a sign of things to come as straight away Harry Kane had a chance to level things for Spurs. After being played in by Erik Lamela, the England captain had a shot from outside the Man City area that deflected off John Stones. The deflection caught Ederson off guard but had enough on it to whistle over the bar and keep the scoreline at 1-0. Still before the 10 minute mark Spurs had another chance to score, however Toby Alderweireld could only direct Kieran Trippier’s corner into the gloves of Ederson.

Man City made some uncharacteristic defence errors during the course of the match with Benjamin Mendy in particular a culprit. The French left back completely missed a through ball to Moussa Sissoko which allowed him time and space as he entered the Man City box. However he could not find the perfect pass with Lucas Moura, Kane and Lamela all waiting and so once more Man City were let off the hook.

Once more Spurs did not let the chances going Man City’s way impact the way they played. Harry Kane was the next Spurs player to have a chance. He was put through on goal after a great reverse pass by Erik Lamela, again on the back of some poor City defending. But once more Spurs could not get level as Kane took a heavy touch, which allowed Ederson to come off his line up and intercept.

Into the second half, Man City had a golden chance to increase their lead. Instead of shooting, David Silva instead teed up Raheem Sterling, whose shot was blocked on the line by Kieran Trippier. The chance should have really been taken after Bernardo Silva had done all the hard work and the frustrations of Pep Guardiola were understandable as Spurs were still in the match.

Yet as the half went on Spurs rallied and had more chances to get their equaliser. The first came from Lamela, who dispossessed Kevin De Bruyne before trying to bend his effort into the corner but it sailed wide. It also was the Argentine, in such good form for Spurs this season, who had a golden opportunity to level things for Spurs with 10 minutes left. After good work from Lucas Moura and Dele Alli, the Spurs substitute put a perfect pass into Lamela. However his attempt to guide the ball goalwards was not fruitful as his shot went over, much to the disbelief of his team mates and manager. The pitch may not have aided his cause, nonetheless it was a chance that should have really been taken.

Spurs tried their upmost after that key opportunity to equalise but it was not to be as Man City kept up their incredible defensive Premier League record this season.

Spurs v Man City Lineups

What the Managers Said

Spurs Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino

“Last season it was difficult to compete against Man City in both games that we played in Manchester and here, the gap and the level was massive between both teams. But today it was very competitive, an even game. Yes a little bit lucky because when they made a mistake we didn’t score and when we did they scored in one action. Disappointed in one way with the result, but happy with the performance.” (football.london)

Man City Head Coach Pep Guardiola

“Tottenham is one of the teams I admire the most for the way they play, I think the grass today did not help them either, they have a lot of quality to play. Harry Winks came on the pitch and changed the game so they are an exceptional team.” (football.london)

Spurs v Man City Man of the Match

The man of the match for Spurs was Moussa Sissoko. The Frenchman was relentless all night, winning tackles in defence and bursting forward at any opportunity he had. He should have done better when he failed to pick a pass when through on goal in the first half but that aside it was an impressive performance from him. Mousa Dembele was also encouraging in the centre of midfield for Spurs, showing signs of the old Dembele which will undoubtedly please Pochettino.

What’s Next for Spurs

Spurs are in action immediately as the face West Ham on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup. Mauricio Pochettino is expected to rotate his squad for that one, as Spurs are again in action at the weekend with a trip to Molineux to face Wolves in the Premier League.

Man City have been crowned champions this weekend as a result of a 3-1 victory over Spurs at Wembley, as well as a shock loss from their rivals Man Utd, who suffered a 1-0 defeat to bottom of the league West Brom.

Man City looked to recover what had been a shocking string of three defeats which had seen them crash out of the Champions League 5 goals to 1, and had their crowning delayed by fierce rivals Man United. Spurs were fighting to extend their 14 matches unbeaten record to a club record 15 in the PL.

Man City’s attitude from the outset was faultless as they unravelled a sluggish Tottenham Hotspur early on. Early on, Leroy Sane found himself in acres of space on the edge of the box; David Silva whipped a ball into him, only for Leroy to leather it off the framework. Soon after De Bruyne rocketed a shot wide after Silva was just given bags of space and time to pick a pass. In a very uncharacteristic manner for this Spurs side, Dembele and Dier could not deal with the tempo of Silva and De Bruyne, and Eriksen was forced to draw back and cover deep which somewhat isolated him from the attack.

The first success for City came in the 22nd minute. From a simple route-one from Kompany over the top of the Spurs defence, Gabriel Jesus got behind Sanchez, outpaced him, and clinically slotted the ball behind Hugo Lloris. It only took two minutes for City to dispossess Spurs again and win a penalty after a reckless lunge from the Spurs skipper. The ref, unfortunately for Tottenham, got this one wrong: Hugo’s challenge made contact with Sterling just outside of the area. Gundogan executed the penalty with precision, sending Lloris the wrong way, and struck it in off the post. 2-0 to Man City.

After a sloppy start for Spurs, they responded well to the quick-fire City goals and began to string some nice passes together. Ben Davies unleashed his frustrations onto the calf of Vincent Kompany in a late challenge that was nowhere near the ball. The Spurs fullback got away lightly; if the ref had seen that challenge first-hand, he would no doubt have dismissed Davies from the pitch. Eriksen then handed the Lilywhites a lifeline with a fortuitous goal in the 42nd minute. A nice bit of Spurs interplay saw the ball move from Dembele, to Davies, and then to Kane, who put a sly pass into Eriksen in the box. Laporte looked to clear Eriksen’s shot but his clearance ricocheted off the Spurs midfielder and into the Man City net. City, once again, looked in danger of throwing away a two-goal advantage.

That invigorated Tottenham Hotspur with a new lease of energy early in the second half, but they couldn’t manage to turn that energy into more success. City again picked holes in the Spurs defence, Jesus found himself in a one-on-one in the 63rd minute but scuffed the shot wide. Heung-Min Son replaced Lamela in order to try to add a spark to the Spurs attack, but they couldn’t dispossess Man City for long enough to muster one. Lloris volleyed into the path of Sterling, who went around the French Keeper, but found his target blocked by Jan Vertonghen.

Raheem made up for his miss with a goal in the 72nd minute, although it was sloppy and came as a result of Tottenham Hotspur not managing to clear their lines adequately. Sanchez initially failed to clear his box, leaving the ball at the feet of Jesus for a shot on target. Lloris then parried the effort straight into the path of the Man City man, who was not missing from three yards out.

Lucas was substituted on in the 75th minute and his flair shone through. I think he will be an integral part of this squad once he’s had a full summer of training with the Lilywhites. Spurs didn’t really test Ederson from thereon out, apart from a long-distance rocket from Lucas which forced a parry. Man City more than deserved the three points at Wembley Stadium. Spurs looked good in patches but didn’t seem to wake up until a decent way in.

Spurs vs Man City Attendance

Wembley Stadium: 80,811

Starting Line-Ups: Spurs vs Man City

Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Davies, Vertonghen, Sanchez, Trippier, Dier, Dembélé, Alli, Eriksen, Lamela, Kane

Man City: Ederson, Delph, Laporte, Kompany, Walker, David Silva, Gündogan, De Bruyne, Sané, de Jesus, Sterling

Poch’s Comments

“We need to be ready to compete Tuesday. We are doing so well we are in the top four and that is our aim. When you play Man City, they play at such a good level, they have unbelievable players that when they are focused, can perform in the way they showed today”

Man of the Match

Raheem Sterling took home the Man of the Match award at Wembley Stadium. Although he missed a few chances, his effort, and his pace cannot be questioned. He can lift Man City in terms of remaining alert and energetic, and that is impressive amid a squad of such high calibre. The Spurs defence struggled to keep up.

What’s next for Tottenham Hotspur?

Spurs travel to Brighton on Tuesday night, before battling for a place in the FA Cup final against Manchester United on the weekend.

See how this exciting fixture turns out this year with one of our Spurs vs Man City Tickets and Hospitality packages!