Five keys to Tottenham Hotspur beating Manchester City in EPL opener
By Aaron Coe
Tottenham Key Two – Be quick on the counterattack
I realize that after saying you have to fight for possession and not park the bus to say anything about counter-attacking seems slightly counter-intuitive. However, in practice, counter-attacking football can occur almost anywhere on the pitch and Tottenham is really good at it. While it should not be the only approach for scoring against Manchester City, the Spurs do need to leverage the counter.
More than anything, Tottenham needs to move the ball quickly when they gain possession from City, wherever it happens to be on the pitch. We already know the main defensive strategy in transition for City under Pep is to foul. Well, you avoid those fouls with quick passing movements and fast counterattacking.
As City get sucked up the pitch in possession, taking your chances to attack them quickly before they can recover their shape and structure and before they can foul you to stop the attack is the way to go.