In this weekend's most eagerly awaited Premier League clash, Tottenham managed to get the intensity and pressure just right against Manchester City, winning 2-0 at the Eithad Stadium and confirming Thomas Frank's excellent start to the job.
However, the fact that Pep Guardiola started the match with Ederson on the bench in an attempt to boost the Trafford youngster's morale made all the difference due to the 22-year-old's poor adaptation to the Citzens' traditional style of play, despite being a youth player. On the other hand, Tottenham showed aggression, intensity and plenty of tactical discipline to apply high pressure from the first minute.
Richarlison shines in Spurs’ tactical masterclass
Richarlison was one of the main players, running all over the place and ending up being omnipresent in various parts of the pitch, stealing balls in the attacking half and misleading his rivals, even though the game had few spaces. When they didn't have the ball, City also looked to advance their lines, but they ended up conceding the first goal in just this way, when Richarlison received the ball on the right and lifted his header into the middle for Brennan Johnson to open the scoring.
Taking advantage of the good momentum and putting even more pressure on the opposition, Tottenham got their second goal through Trafford's decisive miss from a short corner. Richarlison saw the goalkeeper slap the ball away and tried to score, but he got out of the way when he spotted Palinha, who took advantage of the space and unleashed a firm shot to make it 2-0.
Pep Guardiola tried to use the bench in the second half and made changes in search of an equalizer, but goalkeeper Vicario was able to save the few chances he conceded and Spurs almost scored a third in stoppage time through Solanke and Odobert. While Tottenham are celebrating their start to the season, the Citzens still have a number of doubts.