Jose gets one over old foe Pep as Spurs ride their luck against Manchester City
Spurs’ win this evening against Manchester City was often dull, but the moments in between were some of the most dramatic of the season and there were incidents that I don’t think will ever be repeated in a Premier League game.
Scorer of Spurs’ second goal, Heung-Min Son, skipping past City skipper Fernandinho
Somehow Spurs came out on top and ultimately that means that Liverpool edge even closer to their inevitable first Premier League title, whilst Spurs move within just four points of the top four.
Pep Guardiola will be fuming with his side for not being more clinical on a day which saw Aguero hit the post, Gündogan’s penalty saved and Sterling’s huge miss - all when the game was at 0-0. It just wasn’t meant to be for City, but Spurs hadn’t even registered a shot until the opening goal, so nobody would have been surprised if the game finished goalless.
However, on his debut young Dutchman Steven Bergwijn volleyed home a sensational strike to send Tottenham players and fans into delirium. It was a debut of dreams and it was a shame he couldn’t see the game out as soon after his goal he got cramp and was forced to come off.
£27m January signing; Steven Bergwijn scored a spectacular goal on his debut for Spurs.
Spurs though look to have a player who is full of energy and has that special moment of quality in him which only the very best players possess. Spurs then had the momentum and in their second shot of the game, Son made it 2-0 with another very good finish.
There were long spells in the game that were uninspiring, and you could hardly call it an end to end encounter, but somehow it was always captivating to watch because you were anticipating the next moment of drama.
The moment the game really came to life was near the end of the first half, when Aurier slid in and made contact with Aguero. The game continued for two whole minutes before play was stopped, courtesy of VAR, and a penalty was awarded to Manchester City. It was a poor penalty from Gundogan and a comfortable save from Lloris, but what followed was a few minutes of absolute chaos.
Another huge opportunity for City was denied by the returning Hugo Lloris
Sterling reacted quickest to Lloris’ fumbled save and initially it looked like Lloris had cleared Sterling out and there would be another penalty. However, the replays showed that he did pull out of the challenge at the last second and Sterling had just slipped. Then when the penalty wasn’t awarded there was a confrontation between the two teams in which Sterling was involved and considering his earlier tackle on Alli that could have been a sending off, some expected him to be shown a second yellow. Instead referee Lee Mason walked for what felt like an eternity past Sterling and showed Zinchenko a yellow card.
From then on, you were always expecting the next moment of drama to unfold and it didn’t disappoint.
Spurs scored twice, Zinchenko got a second yellow for a classic City ‘tactical foul’ as they went down to 10 men and missed a host of further great chances.
Mourinho though will be delighted to get one over Guardiola as recent history hasn’t been kind to him in their personal rivalry. Pep on the other hand will be bitterly disappointed and surely frustrated with his players for overplaying and not winning a game they were often so in control of.
Jose won the battle today against his foe Pep, in the ongoing rivalry between the two.