5 talking points from Manchester City’s draw with Tottenham Hotspur
By Thuya Kyaw
4. Tottenham’s 3 men defensive line exposed
Mauricio Pochettino experimented with three at the back against Chelsea on January 4th, which was almost suicidal considering how Everton and Man City ended up after trying the same thing. However, things went perfect for his Spurs side, as they came out 2-0 winners in the London derby.
Since then, the Argentine manager decided to stick with the system, and has been using it in the victories over Aston Villa and West Broom. His side has played exceptional football under this new formation, scoring eight and conceding none in past three games.
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But in this game, his system was exposed by Pep Guardiola’s 4-1-4-1. Spurs are usually known for putting on an intensive pressure since the opening whistle to their opponents, yet the roles were reversed and it was them who got pressed the whole game.
Spurs were outpossessed, outshot, and completely dominated throughout the match. The shots were 17 to six in favor of City and shots on target were seven to two. City outshot Spurs by three times and had they converted their chances, the game could’ve been over by the first half.
Although Pochettino realized his mistake and took out Kevin Wimmer to change it back to back four, they still could not get out of the home side’s dominance.
This had led to the Argentine admitting in the post match interview that City were a better side and his team was lucky to walk away with a point. He will have a lot to think about before their next league game.