Tottenham are starting to unite under Jose Mourinho

Tottenham’s 2-0 win over Manchester City wasn’t a work of art, but it was a solid performance from a Spurs side that looks to be enjoying football again.

Jose Mourinho’s managerial style isn’t a great fit for every player. Fortunately for Tottenham, it looks to be paying major dividends for Spurs. Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Manchester City was widely celebrated by a Tottenham squad that’s suffered from the presence of several malcontents recently.

Critics of Mourinho and Spurs will point out that City had the lion’s share of possession and arguably could have scored several goals in the first half. On the other hand, Raheem Sterling should have been sent off before any of that action took place. Add it all up, and it’s fair to say that both sides could have entered half time with a significant advantage.

Instead, it was 0-0 after 45+ minutes of wild action. The second half started much the same as City drew a correct, but belated penalty call. Hugo Lloris‘ terrific save breathed much-needed life into Tottenham’s moribund side.

The real change came when the club’s most recent signing, Steven Bergwijn, chested down a pass from Lucas Moura and fired a sensational shot towards goal before the ball even touched the ground. Bergwijn wheeled away to celebrate before his shot nestled home in the back of the City net. More importantly, his new teammates joined him afterwards in a jubilant celebration.

The relief from a Spurs side that’s struggled to score without Harry Kane‘s services was immense. Scoring a goal against a quality side like City will always be met with some measure of adulation. The difference in this celebration was that no member of the Tottenham squad held back. It was the first sign of pure joy from the North London side in quite some time.

The difference between Bergwijn’s emotional outburst and the way Tottenham’s last No. 23 went about his business lately was particularly instructive. Eriksen would have celebrated a classy goal against Pep Guardiola‘s men, but his heart hasn’t been invested in Spurs for some time. Eriksen would have celebrated more out of obligation than any real joy.

The real challenge for Mourinho will be to keep this era of good feelings going. One loss could rob Tottenham of their tenuous grasp on any sort of momentum. The win over City was excellent, but it was far from dominant.

Nonetheless, Tottenham’s new manager deserves credit for building some unity in what was previously a very fractured dressing room. That’s arguably Mourinho’s best managerial accomplishment in the last several years.