Spurs set a precedent against Man City they must finally maintain – opinion

Spurs travelled to the Etihad on Saturday evening to inflict a fifth straight defeat on a Pep Guardiola side for the first time in his managerial career, setting a precedent they finally need to live up to.

Tottenham 4-0 Man City – What a performance!

Astonishing performances from both Dejan Kulusevski and birthday boy James Maddison helped Tottenham to a 4-0 win against the Champions, their first home defeat since November 2022 (Opta).

Maddison opened the scoring against the run of play and added a second seven minutes later. Tottenham went in at half-time 2-0 ahead, a position they found themselves in before but have collapsed by the time the full-time whistle blows, such as their visit to Brighton in October, or indeed when they went to the Etihad in early 2023.  

Spurs were arguably at their most impressive in the second half of the game. More Kulusevski brilliance led to Pedro Porro firing the ball into Ederson’s net.

It’s at this stage that Ange Postecoglou does something that he has widely been criticised for not doing in the past. He makes his Spurs team sit back, dig in and protect the middle channels of the pitch. Following Porro’s goal, Spurs held only 30% of possession, had four shots and absorbed pressure for the best part of half an hour (Premier League). City failed to score a single goal from the 13 shots in this period, and Spurs eventually went on to score a fourth on the counterattack, thanks to the fresh legs of Timo Werner, setting up Brennan Johnson.

Spurs need to avoid the same old hangover

Tottenham have produced several impressive performances in the league this season, but their issue has been that they haven’t been able to build upon them. Their 3-0 triumph at Old Trafford in September was followed by the aforementioned collapse at Brighton the following week.

Spurs then recovered from that result, coming back from a goal down to defeat London rivals West Ham 4-1. But that was quickly forgotten about after they put in arguably their worst performance so far this season against Crystal Palace. And in more recent weeks, Spurs’ triumph over Aston Villa was followed by Ipswich travelling to North London and getting their first Premier League win this season.  

It’s those inconsistencies that make it imperative that Spurs build upon their defeat of the Champions in the next few weeks, simply because it was their best performance yet. In his post-match podcast, Gary Neville said: “They have set a standard now. You have to be compact; you have to be diligent; you have to be concentrated in every single second of every single football match.”

It wasn’t just a brilliant match because Spurs won 4-0, it was how they achieved it that was most impressive. Postecoglou’s game management and knowing when the third goal went in that it was time for his players to step back and defend their lead, rather than going for more. The team’s ability to remain compact and concentrated, keeping City out and clinching a first league clean sheet since late September (Premier League).

Fulham at home is up next for Spurs

Both Postecoglou and his players now know that this is something that they’re more than capable of doing and therefore give them the remit to shut down games going forward, rather than risking another Britghton-esque collapse. 

It was also a great game for individuals. James Maddison started his first league game since the Crystal Palace defeat (Transfermarkt), with Postecoglou opting for a Kulusevski-Sarr partnership in midfield in recent weeks. It was then a surprise to many when he started at the Etihad, pushing Kulusevski out to the right-hand side.

The 28-year-old took this opportunity well, scoring his brace, but he was immense in his defending in the second half when Tottenham began to sit back, completing two tackles, two clearances and an interception (WhoScored). It’s up to Maddison now to prove that his performance wasn’t a once-off and he can impact games like he did consistently.  

Saturday’s game was a lesson for both Postecoglou and his players as to what their ceiling is and what they’re capable of doing. It’s now up to them to apply what they have learned to their performances going forward, in order to further their potential. If they don’t it will be yet another result thrown to the wayside, and it was simply too great of a night to waste. 

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