Tottenham vs. Manchester City: Winners and Losers from Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur hosted Manchester City in the early kick-off in the Premier League on Saturday, with Spurs running out 4-1 winners after a big second-half performance.
Kevin De Bruyne scored the opener with a good finish on the counter before Eric Dier levelled things before half-time. In the second half, Spurs took control with a Toby Alderweireld header and a Harry Kane half-volley before Erik Lamela wrapped up the win late on.
Here are all our winners and losers from the fixture at White Hart Lane.
Winner: Erik Lamela
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Argentinian attacker Erik Lamela hasn't had a great time of things at Spurs since joining, but this performance was far closer to what was expected of him.
He was superb throughout, starting from the right side of the attack but with licence to move infield; he was a constant threat attacking the far post when play came across from the left and several times got into shooting positions, which he spurned early on. However, he got his goal late on with a fine run and a very composed move to around the 'keeper to score.
Lamela's link play and work rate were also impressive, and it's important he finds consistency with this sort of display.
Loser: Willy Caballero
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Manchester City's No. 2 goalkeeper, Willy Caballero, doesn't get endless opportunities to take the place of Joe Hart in meaningful matches, so when he is handed a start, he really needs to put in a far better performance than this.
Caballero made a good save in the buildup to Spurs' first goal but didn't attempt a dive at the actual shot that went in. He was then in totally the wrong position for Spurs' second after half-time—a shocking decision to come off his line for a free-kick he was never getting near presented an easy route to goal.
Conceding more goals in this game than Hart has all season wasn't the best way to impress his boss, Manuel Pellegrini.
Losers: The Officials
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All the offsides!
A bizarre theme of the game was a constant stream of efforts that ended up in the back of the net after offsides were missed in the buildup—and some of them were in plain sight, making it tough to understand why the referee and his assistants failed to spot them.
Harry Kane was stood offside when a free-kick was taken that rebounded back to him, while a through pass to Kyle Walker in the lead up to Dier's goal was so far offside Martin Demichelis was booked for protesting so much afterward.
Even the first goal was offside, De Bruyne just too far forward on the counter. At least a touch into the net from Son Heung-min at 3-1 was correctly flagged offside.
Loser: Raheem Sterling
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City's big-money forward line started off the match heavily involved. Kevin De Bruyne found the back of the net, but for Raheem Sterling on the opposite flank, it was a constant case of missed chances, taking too long on the ball and generally looking off the pace.
He was stopped once or twice by decent saves by Hugo Lloris, but far more of his shots were dragged harmlessly wide after he had made space for himself with a jink to the side. Sterling has consistently been unable to finish off opportunities that appear more than reasonable scoring chances, and that certainly continued in this game.
It is all the more notable when contrasted against De Bruyne's consistent scoring impact.
Winner: Mauricio Pochettino
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Finally, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino deserves praise for getting his team playing on the front foot, even after going behind. Spurs' mentality seemed far stronger to the setback of conceding than Manchester City's was, and with both sides employing similar starting tactics, it was Tottenham's 4-2-3-1 that looked more fluid in attack and stronger in defence.
Spurs haven't always had very good results against City—in fact of late they have been very poor—so this victory was justification for Pochettino that his methods and belief in certain players are taking the club on an upward path.
Consistency, as ever, will be key, but this was a fine win for Spurs.
