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In a blockbuster encounter at the Wembley, red-hot City took on a depleted Spurs side. Pep Guardiola was in no rush to play Kevin De Bruyne and stuck to his tried and tested trio of Sterling, Aguero and Riyad Mahrez. For the Spurs, Dele Alli and Eriksen were still recovering from injury and this gave another opportunity for Lamela in the right wing. Riyad Mahrez opened the scoring for City with a shot from close range after a great pass from Sterling. Tottenham looked pretty lethal in their counterattacks but failed to convert some easy opportunities. In the end, Manchester City won 1-0 and further continued their dominance at the top of the table.
These are the 5 hits and flops from the match;
Hit #1: David Silva
This was yet another scintillating display from the retired Spanish midfield maestro as he was once again at the forefront of his team’s victory. He has been among Premier League’s best playmakers for quite some time now and his performance on Monday was another testimony to his consistency at the top level.
He was the key man behind the first and only goal as he made a great first touch pass to Sterling after receiving an accurate long ball from Ederson. What stood out was his work rate and aggressive pressing to take the ball away from the Spurs midfielders even during the dying moments of the game.
Flop #1: Benjamin Mendy
His place in the team has come under loads of criticism in the recent past and this outing is not going to impress City fans and Pep Guardiola. He was downright awful in the first half as he lost the ball in dangerous areas just outside the City box and rarely made a noteworthy tackle.
Mousa Sissoko, Lamela and Kane went regularly past him with ease and his laziness almost cost City a goal in the first half. He was neither a force in attack and did not contribute anything defensively with the Spurs midfielders constantly passing the ball around him.
City is a top tier European club and Mendy has to perform better to stay in this team in the upcoming matches.
Hits #2: Fernandinho
His string of impressive displays continued on Monday with a world-class defensive performance. This was literally a tutorial on shielding a team’s defence as the aggressive pressing he displayed whenever the ball came to City’s half was simply breathtaking.
His eye for danger makes him an invaluable addition to any team and his last-minute tackles were top notch. The interceptions he made high up on the field whenever Spurs started dominating possession took a lot of workload off the back of Stones and Laporte.
Flop #2: Hugo Lloris
After the horrendous red card against PSV which almost cost the Spurs their UCL hopes, this was another off colour performance from the world cup winning goalkeeper. He was not exactly terrible with his saves but whenever Tottenham looked settled with their ball possession but his distribution was awful as he gave away the ball far too easily while trying to pick out the wide Spurs midfielders on either side. His positioning inside the 6 yard box also lacked creativeness and intent to get to the ball whenever the opposition forwards penetrated deep into the Spurs box.
Hit #3: Ederson
Pep Guardiola has always emphasized that he sees the goalkeeper as another player at the back who can help his team with better distribution and Ederson provides him that exact quality. There are many goalkeepers in the world who possess more acrobatic skills and quick reflexes when compared to Ederson but he is more than just a goal stopper.
In this Manchester City team, he almost plays the role of a deep-lying playmaker and it was evident by the way which he played the main role in City's sixth-minute opener. His passing range and the quickness with which he gets to the ball is stunning and his role in City’s counterattack goals is indispensable.
On Monday, he was the architect behind City’s only goal of the night as he made a brilliant long pass to David Silva which eventually resulted in Riyad Mahrez scoring from close range. His great vision for long range passing is a valuable asset to a team which has the potential to be the best in Europe.
