“CITY” WITHOUT BRUNE
The Citizens sensationally lost as many as two games in a row, missing out on the League Cup and allowing Arsenal to pull away from the championship by eight points. And also become a favorite of bookies who are not prone to romanticism. So the game against the Spurs, who were confidently beaten by the Gunners in the previous round, became crucial for the championship prospects.
In addition to all the problems, Josep Guardiola left the midfielder on the bench due to Kevin de Bruyne’s injury, and second striker Julián Álvarez entered in his place. The Argentine was located next to Erling Haaland, but without the ball he alternated going to the same line as the Norwegian with the personal tutelage of Rodrigo Bentancur.
The Uruguayan’s departure, by the way, was also in doubt, so for Tottenham his participation was significant. In the match with Arsenal, Pierre-Emile Heybjerg was paired with Malang Sarr, and the Gunners dominated both in midfield and in the support zone of another. So the return of Bentancourt, added to De Bruyne’s injury, allowed Spurs to hope that that area would be more controlled.
EDERSON GOES IN HELP… Spurs
Both teams teach us in January that they don’t do much in the first half. Probably for this reason, Guardiola released from the first minutes Jack Grealish, who tried the role of lifeguard, and Antonio Conte, Ivan Perisic, whom Ryan Sesegnon preferred in the North London derby. The Croatian had good prospects, because he faced 18-year-old Rico Lewis, who only started for the third time in the Premier League match, but everything turned out differently… The Croatian was unsuccessful up front, but failed in the back. But more on that later.
And in the first half, the permutations did not help the teams to establish an attacking game. Suffice it to say that at minute 36 they had only landed one unblocked shot each, and both were inaccurate. The first blow for the guests ended with a slight blow to the head from Son Heung-Min, while the hosts had a long shot from Lewis, which was only fraught with danger thanks to the rebound.
The teams swayed only at the end of the half. The match was dynamited by Guardiola’s pupils, who twice threw the ball into the fight for the Netherlands. Before that, the Norwegian wandered aimlessly in the center of the penalty area, but then he jumped first in the one-on-one with Lloris, and then he won the fight against the goalkeeper, but shot over the goal.
In response, the guests had two goal attacks. Ederson gave them one hundred percent first, unsuccessfully slipping the ball to Rodri at the penalty line. Bentancur put pressure on the opponent and inadvertently rolled the ball towards Dejan Kulusevski, who fired into the far corner. And after a couple of minutes, Ederson himself unsuccessfully repelled Kane’s blow from an acute angle exactly to the head of Emerson Royal. In this case, it is not worth scolding the goalkeeper at all, but the fact is that here he played unsuccessfully.
12 MINUTES SEA
As we are used to the weak game of “City” in the first part, we expect a hurricane of attacks after the break. The hosts stayed in the dressing room, where Guardiola was probably giving the final details of the set-up. He wasted no time. The Citizens increased the pressure on the wings, where Grealish and Riyad Mahrez began to take more initiative, and eight minutes later equalized.
Both goals were the result of Mahrez’s activity. In the first case, Perisic spun on the edge and shot, and Julián Álvarez, who missed the first half, was the first to finish after a double attempt by Grealish and Ilkay Gundogan, and in the second, Riyad opened behind the back of the defenders and, in the touch, he threw the ball at the head of the Netherlands, who had no choice but to miss.
The confrontation between Marez and Perisic became decisive. Londoners had mixed feelings. Run to score the third or defend at least one point? They opted for a compromise, patiently waiting for the opportunity to counterattack. One of them was going to end with a goal, but Perisic, after a center spotted by Kulusevski from a lethal position, hit Lewis, and after a couple of minutes he lost the fight against Mahrez and unsuccessfully substituted his blow -a small El The rebound disoriented Hugo Lloris, and the ball went off into the near corner. What a comeback for the “citizens”!
Players from “Man City” had no right to spoil such a feat of a partner. On the contrary, in the 90th minute, together with Clement Lenglet, they organized a one-on-one with Lloris, and Mahrez, after giving in to the goalkeeper, scored a brace. Such an important victory for the Mancunians, including how exactly it was achieved: against a great rival in a seemingly disastrous situation. Such a return should inspire the players for the championship race, so Arsenal cannot relax.
APP. 7th round
Manchester City – Tottenham – 4:2 (0:2)
Goals: Kulusevski, 44 – 0:1. Royal, 45+1 – 0:2. Julian Alvarez, 51 – 1:2. Holland, 53 – 2:2. Mahrez, 63-3:2. Mahrez, 90-4:2.
Manchester City: Ederson, Lewis (Walker 83), Stones, Akanji, Ake, Rodri, Gundogan (B. Silva 81), Mahrez, Grealish, Julian Alvarez, Haaland (Diash 90).
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Romero, Dyer (Lenglet 78), Davies, Royal (Richarlison 78), Heibjerg, Bentancourt (Bissuma 75), Perisic (Sesegnon 69), Kulusevski, Son, Kane.
Warnings: Mahrez, 21. Romero, 23. Heibjerg, 31.
Referee: Hopper.
