How We Won: Tottenham v Manchester City
By Ryan Wrenn
There’s no simple answer to the question of how exactly Tottenham managed to win – and win so spectacularly – against Manchester City in Saturday’s early Premier League match up.
The first half saw Tottenham playing they same game they always end up playing against bigger sides. The offensive had occasional flashes but was ultimately impotent. City’s goal came when Tottenham sloppily lost possession of the ball and then failed to do much of anything about it being converted mere seconds later. Before Eric Dier equalized off an equally sloppy mistake on City’s part at the death of the half, it seemed like this might be another rout at the hands of Manchester City.
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As we spoke about in our live match commentary, a lot of Tottenham’s lack of cohesion in the first half was down to two reasons, one broad and one specific.
The defensive responsibilities at Tottenham have become so diffuse that the largely successful effort to contain City’s offense meant that only a few players were available at any given time when the ball was retrieved. Bringing the ball forward means little if only one or two players have been able to make it into relatively dangerous positions in the opposition’s box. Érik Lamela and Christian Eriksen’s tracking back was a vital component of Tottenham’s control of the game – they each recorded five successful tackles and one interception per WhoScored – but it also meant that returning to their typically offensive positions took a few extra few steps.
Or, in the case of Eriksen, it meant being far enough away from his typical passing targets that one of the best parts of his game suffered. Over 67 minutes played, Eriksen’s woeful 61% accuracy meant that he recorded a mere 20 successful passes, tied for least among outfield players with City’s Kevin De Bruyne. In two seasons with Spurs, Eriksen has averaged 48 passes per game at an 82% accuracy rate. In most any other game, Eriksen would be surrounded by his teammates, each opening up avenues through which the Dane could slot a pass. His relative isolation dramatically affected his game Saturday.
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So if Tottenham – and in particular one of their primary creative hubs – were consumed in efforts to keep City off the board in the first half, what changed in the second half?
Mistakes, this time from City and not from Tottenham. De Bruyne’s pass directly to Eric Dier just before halftime and Willy Caballero’s baffling move off the line that allowed Toby Alderweireld to score off a corner kick four minutes into the second half were the most crucial moments of this game. They forced City thereafter to maintain an aggressive game, make offensive substitutions and generally leave open enough room behind them for Lamela to throw his much-belated coming out party.
The Argentine put on the kind of show Tottenham fans have been waiting for. He was able to handle the defensive and offensive sides of his role on the pitch in equal, exceptional measure. Eriksen tends to lean toward the offensive side of his game and Mousa Dembélé the defensive side of his. Here, Lamela showed them both precisely the type of effort Mauricio Pochettino wants from his attacking midfielders. He tackled, he dribbled, he checked Aleksander Kolarov and Raheem Sterling’s runs forward. It was a tireless performance. His goal, when it came, felt somewhat superfluous. He would still have been the man of the match without it.
A lot of those same points can be made about Harry Kane. He did a lot of the grunt work in keeping City occupied considerably farther back on the pitch than they would have liked, and scored a marvelous volleyed goal off Eriksen’s free kick off the crossbar to boot.
So, how did Tottenham win? To call it chance, or to call it good fortune due to City’s poorly timed mistakes, isn’t enough. Tottenham have benefited from mistakes before and still lost games. No, this was the performance of a confident side, one who didn’t merely look to hold onto a lead but add to it. There’s no denying that they were helped by City’s collapse in the second half, but credit must go to Tottenham for taking every chance they were given to make this a memorable, historic victory.