Tottenham vs. Manchester City: Winners and Losers from Premier League
Manchester City reinvigorated their challenge for second place in the Premier League by beating Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
Spurs could have been three up in the first 10 minutes but failed to take their chances, and eventually City's threat on the counter-attack was validated by a wonderful Sergio Aguero goal.
Mauricio Pochettino's men pushed for an equaliser late on and threw on strikers to force a goal, but the visiting defence—and in particular Joe Hart—stood tall.
Here, B/R picks its winners and losers from the game.
Winner: Erik Lamela, Who Put in One Hell of a Shift
1 of 5
Erik Lamela has struggled this season after promising so much in his sophomore year, but it's performances like these that give the White Hart Lane crowd hope he can come good.
After scoring last weekend (albeit with his hands), he put in a hard-working performance to solidify favour with Mauricio Pochettino and keep Andros Townsend on the bench. As Opta's Raj Bains noted, the Argentinian was all over the pitch:
"Lamela has been the best Tottenham player on the park. His work rate in both attack and defence is absolutely non-stop," Bains wrote.
There will be new additions in the summer, and midfield is an area Pochettino will seek to strengthen. Late flourishes such as this will ensure Lamela is given more time to prove himself as a Spurs player.
Right now, the likes of Roberto Soldado and Paulinho are in murkier waters than the Argentinian winger, whose clever link play needs to become a consistent factor if he is to ever justify his gargantuan price tag.
Loser: Ryan Mason, Who Had an Afternoon to Forget
2 of 5
Ryan Mason was surely hoping to turn in a commanding performance this weekend after his role in the buildup to Graziano Pelle's cheap opener last week at St Mary's Stadium. Unfortunately, nothing about his performance was assured.
Notably, he missed a golden one-on-one chance against Joe Hart after being slipped in behind the defence, and he was then substituted with 20 minutes to go for Paulinho.
As referenced when discussing Erik Lamela, midfield is an area Mauricio Pochettino will be looking to strengthen this summer. Nabil Bentaleb is assured a position, but the role Mason currently occupies could be up for grabs.
Winner: Sergio Aguero, Who Scored the Winner and Looked Irresistable at Times
3 of 5
Sergio Aguero scored the only goal of the game with a superb near-post finish after an electric counter-attack. David Silva's pass into his path, releasing him behind the defence, was absolutely inch-perfect, and the Argentinian gobbled up the chance with aplomb.
Manchester City continued to stress the Tottenham Hotspur defence by trying to release Aguero in behind early, and he gave Hugo Lloris one or two frights and could have scored one or two more.
He moves to 22 league goals for the season, per BBC Sport—two ahead of Harry Kane and therefore two clear at the top of standings.
"Aguero was effective. One of the best in the world. I feel like I repeat it every time we play him," admitted Mauricio Pochettino in his post-match press conference (via B/R's Karl Matchett).
Loser: Federico Fazio, Who Played Badly Again
4 of 5
Flipping the coin, Sergio Aguero's opponent had a torrid day. Federico Fazio struggled to keep up with anything the Argentinian did, and uMAXit Football's Seb Stafford-Bloor succinctly summed up the battle for those unable to watch:
"Sergio Aguero vs. Federico Fazio is like watching an oil tanker chase a speedboat."
It's his third bad game in a row, having previously disappointed against Southampton and Aston Villa, where he let both Graziano Pelle and Christian Benteke rise above him to head past Hugo Lloris.
He was seen passing the ball out of play under no pressure on Sunday and came close to giving away a penalty after clipping Aguero's heels in the box.
Winner: Joe Hart, Who Turned in an Extraordinary Performance
5 of 5
As noted by B/R's Karl Matchett, Mauricio Pochettino was effusive in his praise for both Sergio Aguero and Joe Hart after the game. He named them both Man of the Match.
Hart stood firm and made several key saves throughout to keep Manchester City's sheet clean, and his role in the goal should not be overlooked either. His claiming of a corner and subsequent quick distribution sparked the counter-attack that led to Aguero's goal.
Hart denied Ryan Mason and Harry Kane one vs. one before stopping an Erik Lamela run late on. It was one of his best performances this season and across his career to date.
