Premier League: Manchester City 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur: 5 Talking Points and Tactical Analysis

#3 Spurs rue their missed opportunities

Spurs entered the game against City at the Etihad high on confidence after their mid-week exploits. Thus, many expected them to carry their momentum and dent the Cityzens’ Premier League title challenge as well.

However, a combination of poor finishing and indecisive play in the offensive third handed the hosts all three points.

The visitors were deprived of possession for the majority of the game. The home side ended with 61% of the ball and consigned the visitors to feed off scraps. However, those scraps threw up a bunch of decent chances for Spurs. Yet, they couldn’t capitalise.

The first half saw Son and Eriksen miss gilt-edged opportunities with the former in particular, enduring a bad day at the office. On one occasion, the latter released the Korean expertly near the half-way line. But, the forward couldn’t sort out his feet to get a shot away at goal.

As for Eriksen, the Dane fired straight at Ederson when accorded the opportunity to shoot from the right side of the penalty box.

In the second period too, Lucas created space for himself after a clever touch. Yet, he couldn’t make the net bulge.

On Saturday, both Spurs and City displayed the after-effects of the Champions League epic on Wednesday. However, the latter ended up making the most of their openings while the former was left to rue what could’ve been.

And if Spurs eventually miss out on the top four, they would only have themselves to blame.