your boys took a hell of a beating.
It’s good to know that in 2021 there’s something in football that Pep Guardiola still can’t buy… a win at Spurs.
It was the best time to face City. They hadn’t looked good in preseason and the team Guardiola put out looked about as weak a team he will put out in the league, all season.
But then Spurs were heading into the game as… well, Spurs. New manager, mostly the same old players except for that one name conspicuously missing from the squad. With a central defensive pairing that wasn’t filling many with confidence, a youngster in the middle that many wanted to see but has just come back from, a successful, stint in the second division and a front three that contained a couple of hit and misses.
And that first half hour made it look like the pessimists were right. It was a long half hour in which Spurs struggled to string one pass together. While City had bits of chances.
Pep had played another blinder here. Grealish and Sterling playing in the same space while having nothing to play to. So they ended up just throwing themselves to the ground. Unfortunately for Pep he spent that £100m on a player whose time might have gone, what with the refs not buying as many cheap fouls.
And so it took that half hour before City ran out of the few ideas they had. The BBC commentator telling us that Guardiola sees the game differently from us mere mortals. He was seeing players crying out for someone up front to play it to, while their striker was being false. That’s on the very rare occasion either of Sterling or Grealish got past Japhet Tanganga
That City defence was there to got at, only adding Walker could have made it weaker. But Spurs didn’t go at ’em enough in that first half. I asked if Sonny was on work to rule. He had good opportunities to either have a shot or attack the defence, but he chose to play the ball backwards instead. It wasn’t the Son we’re used to, almost as if he was also looking for someone to play it to. He did take one shot, which should have at least resulted in a corner.
Ten minutes after the break, he did what he should have done earlier in a situation that was almost exactly the same. It started in the Spurs’ box, a head out, Moura facing his own goal kicked it behind him to the onrushing Bergwijn. Three City defenders to only two Spurs attackers, he played it to the other one, Son.
He was one on one with Ake, a nothing defender, who he faced in the first half when he passed back, this time he went at the player, got that bit of space while cutting in and curled one inside the far post, while Diaz does a bit of Sanchezesque defending and the keeper is rooted.
Just minutes later Bergwijn could have, should have, wrapped it all up. Again it started in the Spurs area, a hoof up the park by Sanchez, the ball fell to Moura who was off, in being tackled the ball rebounded off a City player into Bergwijn’s feet. The keeper had committed himself but the Dutchman could only find the outside of the side netting. The Dutchman started his Spurs’ career with a flier with that goal against City but he hasn’t gone on, be interesting to see what Nuno does with him. Now Moura also has had his moments but hasn’t been consistent. When he plays like he did here, just running at the opposition it’s him at his best, yes it can be very hit and miss but he lifts the crowd and much like the departed Lamela, you know he gives it his all, he’s not a shirker. An end product from both, goals or assists and it’s almost like two new players.
It felt a bit like those misses against Liverpool last season, when Spurs were top of the table. The kind of miss that’ll come back to bite Spurs.
Thankfully it didn’t. Spurs were on the up, City were shaky and even the introduction of a striker and their talisman didn’t produce an equaliser as they continued to look pretty clueless. Though Pep was undoubtedly seeing something different. Mahrez was doing his one trick on the right, without an end product, while the pair on the left were getting nowhere past Tanganga. It was no surprise that Sterling was the first replaced. I mean James had Sterling in his pocket in the Champions League final, so that isn’t a major achievement but Tanganga had both him and Grealish.
It was a surprise when Nuno brought the youngster off with a few minutes to go, for Doherty. Though it did give him a chance to walk round the pitch to universal acclaim, for his man of the match performance. It was a head scratcher of a subs, which came after I’d commented that the 77th minute change of Bergwijn for Lo Celso was the exact opposite. It was a sub that made sense. Lo Celso looked sharp in the quarter of an hour he got. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him replace the Dutchman in the next starting XI.
In the dying minutes the new boy Romero came on for the injured Hojbjerg. Be interesting to see how the Argentine fits in. Many weren’t happy to see Sanchez and Dier still at the club, never mind starting but they didn’t really put a foot wrong here, not a major howler at least. Saying that, Romero was voted best defender in the land of Bonucci and Chiellini, you want him in the side.
While Skipp proved a decent partner for Hojbjerg, which should see the end of Winks and Sissoko, though which club out there will want to take that pair off Spurs hands?
Spurs still looking to add, a defender, right back and both clubs are after a striker… wonder if either will be successful… of course one could lead to the other… or someone will have to fight to get back in a team that look happy, certainly looked more up for it than in last season’ opener.
Same players… new manager… welcome to the Nuno age…