/”Premier League Roundup: 2- Man City puts down Tottenham Hotspur
Nowadays, it seems certain that if there’s a challenge in the football world, Manchester City, guided by Pep Guardiola, will rise to meet it – that is, securing victories repeatedly, especially with Premier League glory in sight.
In past competitive battles that have seen them go head-to-head under Guardiola’s leadership – where there’s minimal room for mistakes – they’ve never faltered. Their streak of wins has been consistent and overpowering. And here we are, once more, witnessing City edging close to yet another league title, their fifth with Guardiola in charge, this triumph was their eighth consecutive win during a high-pressure period.
On this particular night, every Arsenal follower was rooting for Spurs, hoping their fierce rivals could assist in an unintended way. A Spurs result of any kind would have put Arsenal in pole position ahead of the final matchday on Sunday.
It wasn’t meant to be, as is usually the case with Manchester City, regardless of how close or uncomfortable for Arsenal fans to observe. They maintained their lead thanks to Erling Haaland’s goal, despite Tottenham’s opportunities to level the playing field.
City’s unlikely saviour of the day was Stefan Ortega, who stepped in for the injured Ederson. Ortega made an essential save by keeping out Dejan Kulusevski, Spurs’ backup player. He topped that in the 86th minute by thwarting an attempt by Son Heung-min, pushed forward by Brennan Johnson stealing the ball from Manuel Akanji. Once again, Ortega came through with a remarkable save, to Guardiola’s utter relief.
City managed to hold on and later enjoyed a smooth finish when Haaland doubled their lead from the penalty spot, courtesy of a foul on another replacement, Jérémy Doku, by Pedro Porro. If they overcome West Ham on Sunday, City are bound to be champions once more.
Before the match, there was a single topic of discussion among the north London locals, specifically the Spurs supporters. Who were they cheering for? It was an unusual predicament considering their aim was a Champions League spot yet absolutely rational because of the Arsenal factor.”/
Is it feasible for non-Spurs supporters to demonstrate their support for Spurs in any tangible way? In addition, is it conceivable for a body of 60,000 individuals to reach a common consensus? It stands to reason that you could find practically any opinion within such a large fan base. One shared sentiment echoed from the home side was the chant: “Rise if your disdain for Arsenal prevails”, prompting all to stand.
Guardiola required some time to figure out his gameplan as Postecoglou’s tactics took him by surprise. Although Postecoglou maintained his attacking stance, he tactically created openings in the defence, exhibiting a tendency towards risk-taking.
In the face of missing eight injured players, including three who would ordinarily play left-back, Postecoglou tasked Micky van de Ven to shift from central defence to plug this problematic position. He inaugurated a revised box midfield, assigning his forwards, Johnson and Son, to play far and wide. This indicates that Postecoglou isn’t devoid of a contingency strategy or Plan B.
Observations highlighted Pape Sarr and James Maddison leading the press in central zones, complemented by notable rotation and the support of Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur. Pedro Porro, as is his custom, covered ground from right-back.
The mood in the opening half could be categorised as restrained. It is plausible that the home supporters were grappling to comprehend Postecoglou’s strategy. At half time, it couldn’t be claimed that his approach wasn’t taking effect.
The expectation was that City would discover gaps to exploit, particularly along the right wing, a location that Van de Ven was assigned to guard. Anticipation was evident with the City players as they scanned the field.
During the first half, City did show flashes of promise, yet their accuracy in making a decisive pass was off. Phil Foden unleashed a volley, saved superbly by Guglielmo. A shot from a tight angle by Josko Gvardiol also went wide.
As half time approached, Radu Dragusin met a goalbound strike from Bernardo Silva, with his clearing header; this followed Van de Ven’s block on Erling Haaland, leading to wild celebrations. VAR subsequently raised the offside flag against Foden during the play.
City’s performance was marred by unexpected ball mishandling, contributing to an unusual atmosphere. Spurs showed intermittent signs of action, the most noticeable was early in the game when Johnson delivered the ball to Bentancur, thanks to Højbjerg’s brilliant diagonal. Bentancur took a shot that was expertly tipped out by Ederson. Despite having the man advantage at times, Spurs failed to capitalise.
As the second half commenced, City appeared to huddle for discussions, seemingly aware that the season hung in the balance. They knew they needed to ramp up the intensity of their play.
This determination was clear from the initial kick-off, with Kevin De Bruyne putting on the pressure following Spurs’ attempt at building from the back. City came close to taking the lead when Son engaged with a low cross from Johnson, attempting to outmanoeuvre Ederson, who however shut down the opportunity. City eventually broke through.
The breakthrough was instigated by Foden, who intercepted the ball and raced upfield, cross kicking to the opposite end. Silva intercepted and set up De Bruyne. Spurs were on the backfoot, De Bruyne delivered a low cross and Haaland finalised the move by tapping into the goal. “Are you watching Arsenal?” The Spurs supporters taunted as two fans mimicked Poznan, in City’s style, were shown on TV.
The match heated up. Bentancur was unimaginably furious, venting on the technical area seats after being relieved by Kulusevski. Ederson was equally unpleased to be compelled off following a head injury sustained from Cristian Romero’s collision. His replacement, Ortega, would prove to be a game-changer. – Guardian.