Pre-game:
It’s Super Sunday; a battle of the four title contenders, and we’re one of them. We go into today’s pivotal match on the back of great news from yesterday with Man United losing, and right now a top four place is looking very likely indeed. However, as good as that is, why not dream of reaching higher?
The questions for today are for once not really about us; we all know what Spurs will do and pretty much how they will line up. The debate is about how Manchester City will react to last weekend’s home drubbing by Leicester; we all know that they are an irresistible force on their day (a couple of 5-1 results and a 6-0 over the years have told us that), but are they now at the end of their cycle? Has the announcement about their change of manager affected them in any way?
Spurs are being talked us as having a very good chance here, and so we should. We are playing a team who do not seem to have a plan whey they don’t have the ball, even if they can be devastating with it. If we have enough possession and win the ball in the right areas, we will create chances, and I could see our attackers finding space with City players not being the most diligent in tracking forward runs. The return of Vincent Kompany is desperately needed for them, but right now he’s more likely to limp off after 20 minutes rather than play a full match. It is a gamble by Pelligrini to throw him in, but when you’re playing against a team like ours, you can’t do without your best players.
So to our line-up, and despite some fine performances last week, we see rotation again with Walker and Rose coming in, while Son starts in what seems like an attacking move.
Post-game:
I’d like to talk about this result in a calm and rational way, but this match may be on the short list with a number of other memorable games over the years. There isn’t a Tottenham fan who isn’t on a high right now after toppling Manchester City in their own stadium, and surely turning non-believers who think that we can not stand the heat of a title race.
It was the calmness of the performance that will really stay with people, as it was not a case of hanging on and hoping for a result; we controlled the ball as we have done in so many away games this season, and while we didn’t create too much, we gave up nothing either, and as the visiting team we had to be happy with that. All we needed was a break, and we certainly got that after a more than debatable penalty award; with the strange decisions that Mark Clattenburg made in the first half it was only a matter of time until one of them favoured us. The game followed the same pattern after that, but we got caught out down the right side and City equalised. From then on conventional opinion would suggest that City would finish the game stronger and be the most likely to find a winner.
But it didn’t happen like that. Instead substitute Erik Lamela created the chance and Christian Eriksen showed the coolness in front of goal that was needed to silence the stadium, and with Leicester losing (although it had to be Arsenal to beat them), we have seen a big change today and surely convinced some skeptics that Spurs are not going away.
Hugo Lloris:
There used to be a time when our goalkeepers would have to be Man of the Match for us to get a result at a place like this, but such was our control of the ball that his heroic moments were much more scarce. He had to punch away a few crosses/set pieces, while he did the same with a shot that he seemed to be unsure of. However his biggest play came in stoppage time when a looping cross was heading towards Ottamendi, but Lloris got his hand to the ball just before the centre back connected. A match winning play by Hugo, who got clattered after diving to win the ball.
Kyle Walker:
Very comfortable defensively for most of the time and won a number of interceptions, but Clichy got the step on him for the equaliser and had space to cross. Going forward he opened up things for the others, but much like Rose his crosses weren’t finding team mates; that may be down to Kompany being dominant more than the quality of the delivery.
Toby Alderweireld:
Nothing was getting past him today, as he blocked and tackled everything, while always being in the gang that would descend on Aguero and block off any possible path to goal. Won all of his tackles and had two blocks as well.
Kevin Wimmer:
Was mentioned beforehand as a possible weak link, down to a lack of experience, but he teamed with the others to shut down City. Most notable when defending the near post and blocking crosses, even if he went for some of them with his favoured left foot when clearing with his right would be easier. So comfortable on the ball and was the originator of most of our forays forward. He only missed two out of 46 passes in the first half, and has shown himself to be a clone of Vertonghen so far.
Danny Rose:
I think he could be called a hero of the first half as he saved certain shots on target by throwing himself at the ball, while he was the one who always had space out wide. Crosses didn’t work out too well, although of course one of them forced the penalty in the second half, but Kompany was seemingly winning most of them. Had a thunderous shot that Zabaleta deflected over with his head; I would have been interested to see what Hart could have done with it if it had found its way through.
Eric Dier:
Much like Lloris, had a quiet time for the most part as he did his work under the radar; we barely ever let City break away on us and be left short on numbers at the back. Got booked when he rashly went for a ball that Toure poked away; a yellow card for his first real offence after Toure and Fernando had gotten away with similar mistakes. Had a shot on goal that was dragged wide.
Mousa Dembele:
Won the ball more than anyone else with all of his tackles won, while also notching six interceptions. He was the best midfielder out there today as he was just too strong for then, even Yaya Toure who got held off with ease. He was comfortable in possession even deep in his own half when City buzzed around him and any mistake could have been criticial.
Dele Alli:
Some fancy moves and the expected nutmegs but it was a tough day for most of the attackers as we struggled to complete some promising moves. Not a spectacular day by any means but played his part by winning the ball high up the field a few times, while also opening up space for Rose with his runs, especially in the first half.
Christian Eriksen:
The matchwinner on his birthday; was tidy in possession and kept things moving, but was surely frustrated that we couldn’t make it end with a shot on goal. He had one of them in the first half with a swerving effort that Hart pushed away. Found space deeper down the field, but we just couldn’t make the ball stick higher up and the attacks broke down. However no one will care about that now after what happened in the 82nd minute; first of all he did so well to hold his run as Lamela waited for the path to open up, then he had the perfect first touch before waiting a moment for Hart to commit, then coolly sliding the ball past him. If this season delivers the glory that we’re dreaming of, that moment will be seen as pivotal.
Heung Min Son:
Worked hard but it was not a day for the attackers as things broke down quite a bit when they reached the final third. I thought a shooting opportunity was going to open up for him once or twice in the first half but it was quickly shut down. Unlucky when he was played in on goal but his attempt was blocked and came straight back to hit his arm.
Harry Kane:
Not his most spectacular game, but he won’t care about that. I was hoping to see what he could do against Kompany who couldn’t have been fully fit, and Ottamendi who has been a disaster at times this season. It didn’t work out as he won very few balls against them, while his passes weren’t of the standard expected either. Despite the quiet game he stepped up to convert the penalty, and changed from his usual bottom left placement, which Hart knew all about, to firing it down the middle. Found some space out wide and lashed a shot at goal that flew past the near post.
SUBS:
Tom Carroll (Son):
Brought on to shore up the midfield as we started to sit back a little at 1-1; he was quick to loose balls and won a few tackles, while giving all-out effort to sprint back and block a Kolorov cross.
Erik Lamela (Alli):
He changed the game; with City getting on top we suddenly were able to break forward, and he took the ball on while drawing two defenders before sliding a pass through to Eriksen at just the right moment. A matchwinning substitution and only possible because we have the quality and depth on the bench. He did have another counter attack later on but it didn’t develop the way he wanted, and he took the ball to the corner instead to bring down the clock.
Nacer Chadli (Kane):
Brought on to use time and keep the ball, helped us see the game out.
A Tottenham Man 