Tottenham Engineer Their Own Downfall at Man City, Fail Another Top-4 Test
Tottenham Hotspur's 4-1 loss to Manchester City on Saturday felt a bit like two steps forward, one step back for the north London club.
Mauricio Pochettino's side had improved in their previous two Premier League matches. They were better against the champions compared to how they played in last season's thrashings, too.
For a good while during the game, their ambition in this latest performance at the Etihad Stadium looked like it might be rewarded. Instead, Spurs all but handed the bullets to Sergio Aguero and Co. to shoot them down, as they succumbed in their latest test against a top-four "rival" (the record reads one point from three games now this season).
Disappointed as Spurs should be with how things turned out against Man City, Pochettino is right to point out that there were positives. Then they can even say this is something after the miserable effort they put in the last time they played in this part of Manchester.
Spurs attacked with vigour from the start. Roberto Soldado held the ball up excellently at times and was supported well by his midfield. He combined particularly well with Christian Eriksen, notably so to set up the Denmark international's equaliser on the 15th minute.
It was Ryan Mason's crunching sliding tackle on Fernando that led to that opportunity. In just his third Premier League start, the 23-year-old was again impressive.
He had his own chance at 0-0 when he got forward onto a pass from Soldado (following a penetrative exchange between the striker, Eriksen and Erik Lamela). The shot was simple enough for goalkeeper Joe Hart to deal with, but the awareness to make the run was excellent.
Just prior to the half-hour mark, Mason again displayed his ability to link defence with attack. He exchanged passes with Eriksen and burst down the left as far as he could. After cutting inside, he worked it to Nacer Chadli, who was brought down for a free-kick.
Mason's efforts did not count for much in the end, but on either side of the ball for Spurs, no one took the game more to City. The other standout positive for them was Hugo Lloris' fine—if at times desperate—work in goal. But the frequency with which he was involved was ultimately indicative of where Spurs fell short.
Both of Manchester City's first two goals were questionable. Frank Lampard was offside for Aguero's opener and was at least partly obstructing Lloris' goal. The former England midfielder then went down theatrically for the penalty that led to the Argentinian's second, making the most of minimal contact from Lamela that was nowhere near a foul.
Yet while incompetence from the match officials may have played its part, Tottenham cannot really complain. Despite Pochettino saying otherwise (above), the result did eventually reflect the game.
Things might have been different had Soldado's penalty gone in, but even that was a soft call from referee Jonathan Moss. The frontman went down himself under the slightest of touches from Martin Demichelis. It might have been outside the box anyway.
Spurs were well aware they had to be smart and focused to stay in the game at crucial junctures if they were going to get anything from the Sky Blues. The game was not decided until the second half, but Pochettino's team only really had themselves to blame for being at a disadvantage by then.
Lamela's poor control conceded possession for Aguero's first, but the striker was still allowed far too much space to shoot from Younes Kaboul (as was Lampard bringing the ball forward in the build-up). Even had he stopped Aguero there, the Frenchman's subsequent lax, loose defending suggests he would have been caught out soon enough. He had his compatriot, Lloris, to thank that his foul on David Silva was not punished at the spot.
Federico Fazio, who had been quietly impressive, was asking for trouble when he pulled back Aguero in the box in the lead-up to the home side's third goal. Danny Rose probably should have been more alert to the long ball forward that he failed to deal with in the build-up to the centre-back's dismissal, too.
Substitute Jan Vertonghen might have done better to stop Aguero's fourth. Then again, the 26-year-old was bordering on rampant by this point and might have punished his victims again regardless. The below statistic indicates just how much fun he had attacking the Spurs goal.
As easy as the visitors made it for them at times, the brilliance of the City attack should not be detracted from.
In addition to their four-goal hero, James Milner, Jesus Navas and Silva were typically opportunistic, reveling in the space granted them but also fashioning much of their own. The forward runs of former Arsenal full-back pair Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy saw them stretch Tottenham remorselessly at times. At the back, Hart and his defence held firm.
Nonetheless, Spurs undoubtedly undermined themselves again. They did so in their loss to Liverpool in August, too, and after the humiliations suffered to these sides (and Chelsea) last season, this continued habit should be a concern for Pochettino. (His own decision to change his defence was questionable. Even if Vertonghen was tired from international duty, the disruption did not help.)
There is evidence to suggest the head coach's side can be better against the Premier League's best as well as overall. For now, they remain decidedly inferior and some way from where they want to be.
