midfielder Giovani Lo Celso (R) reacts with Tottenham Hotspur’s
French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris (C) after the final whistle of the
English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and
Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on November
21, 2020. (Photo by NEIL HALL / POOL / AFP)
Pep Guardiola admitted Manchester City played perfectly
into Tottenham’s hands as Spurs shot to the top of the table with a
2-0 win thanks to goals on the counter-attack from Son Heung-min
and Giovani Lo Celso.
Spurs have not won an English top-flight title in 60 years, but
showed their title credentials with a defensive resilience to
frustrate City’s domination of possession and ruthlessly take their
chances as they scored with their only two shots on target.
Defeat leaves City already eight points off the leaders, albeit
with a game in hand, down in 10th with just three wins from their
opening eight games.
The writing was on the wall for the visitors after just five
minutes when one simple ball over the top from Tanguy Ndombele
caught Joao Cancelo sleeping and Son had the pace and precise
finish under Ederson to register his sixth goal in 11 games against
City.
“The stats speak for themselves, we were better in many
departments but we conceded a goal we cannot concede,” said
Guardiola.
“It was the perfect scenario for them. We knew (Harry) Kane
drops and Son runs in behind. We have to defend better.”
Victory ensured Tottenham will finish the day on top of the
table for the first time in six years. Jose Mourinho’s men move two
points ahead of Chelsea, who they face next weekend at Stamford
Bridge.
“I prefer to be top but it is not an obsession,” said Mourinho.
I don’t care about the table, the opponent, the competition. I want
to go to the next game believing we can win the game.
“This team is a process. There are good signs of evolution at
every level, we are happy with that, but I dont care too much about
the table right now.”
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Guardiola ended speculation over his future by committing to a
new contract as City boss until 2023 this week.
The Catalan has won eight league titles at Barcelona, Bayern
Munich and City, but Guardiola now faces a challenge he has never
had before in rebuilding a second title-winning side at the same
club.
For the sixth consecutive league game City failed to score more
than once with little sign of Guardiola’s men rediscovering the
cutting edge of the free-scoring sides that won back-to-back titles
in 2017/18 and 2018/19.
“We are struggling to score goals this season, that can happen,”
added Guardiola. “They shot two times (on target), two goals and we
cannot score with 22 shots.”
Tottenham’s title challenge will be fully tested with Arsenal,
Liverpool and Leicester also to come before Christmas, but they
could not have made a better start to that daunting run.
“You can see it is open with the way the table stands,” said
Kane after Spurs’ fourth straight league win. “Whoever can put a
good spell together has a chance of winning it.”
After the early opener, the game then settled into the familiar
pattern of now 24 clashes between Mourinho and Guardiola as
Mourinho’s men defended their lead deep and waited for the chance
to counter again.
The visitors had 66 percent of possession but struggled to break
down the mass ranks of Spurs defence.
Gabriel Jesus inadvertently deflected Kevin De Bruyne’s low shot
wide before Jesus did tee up Aymeric Laporte to slot home, but the
goal was ruled out for handball by the Brazilian after a VAR
review.
Instead, it was Tottenham who landed the knockout blow 25
minutes from time with another simple counter-attack.
Kane was afforded plenty of time and space to collect a loose
ball in midfield and drive forward before feeding Lo Celso, who had
barely been on the field a minute and with his first two touches,
controlled and then slotted the ball low beyond the advancing
Ederson.
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