'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Manchester City’s resilient defence helped them beat Tottenham on a horrendous Wembley pitch. Just six minutes in, Riyad Mahrez tapped into an empty net to give City the lead after Raheem Sterling cut the ball back to the Algerian.
In the second half, both sides had opportunities to change the scoreline as David Silva let a golden chance slip away, and Erik Lamela blazed a close-range effort over the bar. However, City would eventually sit back and defend their lead comfortably to move to the top of the Premier League table.
Here are five talking points from the match:
#1 Mahrez continues rich vein of form
At the beginning of the season, there were question marks over Mahrez and whether he would live up to the £60 million transfer fee that Manchester City paid for him in the summer, but in recent weeks the Algerian has certainly looked like he is capable of doing so.
Tonight was by far his best game yet in a City shirt, as he illustrated he has both the ability to be a threat at one end and track back to help his side defensively. After just six minutes the Algerian was already on the scoresheet at Wembley. Raheem Sterling made it in behind Kieran Trippier with ease and cut it back to him to finish into an open net.
On the half-hour mark, the former Leicester City man almost had a brace, but unfortunately for him, Lloris was able to claw his weak footed effort on to the post and out for a corner.
Throughout the game, the winger caused Ben Davies troubles, but in addition to that, he did a very good job of helping out his full-back Kyle Walker. Lucas Moura had a very quiet night and Kyle Walker obviously played a huge part in that, but he also had Mahrez to thank for his defensive work, something many people didn’t think he was interested in doing.
The Algerian now has four goals in his last five Manchester City games, as he has begun to show he most definitely warrants a place in City’s starting lineup.
#2 Tottenham’s full-backs have a difficult night
It was always going to be a difficult night for Tottenham playing against Manchester City, everybody knew that before kick-off.
But the performance by City’s wingers made it immensely difficult for Spurs’ full-backs to have any impact because both Mahrez and Sterling were so dangerous on the counter-attack.
Just six minutes in Sterling glided past Trippier in the box after the latter failed to head away an Ederson goal kick, cut the ball back to Mahrez and it was 1-0. Even though that was to be the only goal in the game, Sterling and Mahrez were both Manchester City’s stand-out players all game.
Trippier, against his England team-mate, found it extremely difficult to judge what he was going to do every time he got the ball. From the very outset Sterling beat Trippier and he found it particularly easy to make it past him from then on out.
And on the other side, it was a similar story for Mahrez. He pegged Ben Davies back throughout the whole game and forced him to defend for almost the whole 90 minutes. Mahrez was able to run at him, but was also bringing the left-back onto him to create spaces in behind for midfielders Bernardo Silva and David Silva, as it was seen when City nearly made it 2-0 through David Silva.
Both Davies and Trippier are renowned for their crossing and their influence in attack, but tonight they were restricted so much there were hardly any opportunities for them to have any impact in attacking areas.
#3 Wembley pitch makes it hard for both teams
Spurs intended to make this match against City their opening game in their new stadium, and the NFL match at Wembley yesterday would have therefore had no bearing on a Premier League fixture. However, the shambolic situation with Tottenham’s new stadium meant their match tonight had to be played on a horrendous Wembley pitch, and it arguably turned out to be the vital factor that cost them points against the champions.
The NFL slogan remained clear in the centre circle, and yard markings from the NFL match were still very visible all over the pitch. It was a terrible situation for both sides and led to a rather low-quality outing, with both sides struggling to create clear-cut chances.
City had a few chances, with David Silva missing a golden opportunity as he opted to pass to Sterling after Bernardo Silva cut it back to him, but overall there were very few chances for both sides as they struggled to deal with the bouncing and bobbling on the Wembley pitch.
As mentioned though, it had the biggest effect on Spurs, with Lamela missing a golden opportunity to level it against City with just 10 minutes to play. Mahrez was caught with the ball in his half and Dele Alli fed the ball through to Lamela, who looked certain to level the score, but the ball just bobbled up and he could only knock his effort over the bar.
#4 City show why they’re defending champions
This performance perfectly demonstrated why City are champions, and why they’re currently top of the Premier League table once again this season.
The Cityzens were resilient defensively and almost never looked like conceding, whilst as usual, looking extremely dangerous in attack. They may have struggled to create chances to score like they usually do, but they dominated the ball and passed out from the back with ease as they so typically do.
With this victory, it now means they have visited Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool and have taken seven points, conceding no goals.
City’s new centre-back pairing of Laporte and Stones especially looks to be one that will play an important part in whether they retain that title. If they can remain fit, they will almost certainly be the first-choice pairing and they’re playing an integral part in City’s strong start to the season, which has seen them potentially defend better than they ever have under Guardiola.
In addition to this, the two Silvas tonight continued to flourish in their new midfield partnership. Their interchanging, movement and touches with the ball are truly magnificent, and it is going to be especially hard for De Bruyne to find a place in the starting lineup now on his return from injury.
All in all, it was a very good performance and another hard fought away win at a top-six side, which they now seem to achieve with ease.
#5 Kane struggles to make an impact again
In his post-match interview, Stones stated how he and his team-mates knew how clinical Harry Kane was and that he was going to be tough to play against, but tonight the Englishman was far from his best.
He had a chance early in the first half from the edge of the box with Ederson slightly off his line, but his powered effort could only hit the roof of the net. And from that moment on, Kane had barely any involvement in the match. His link-up play was poor and he almost looked disinterested at times.
Obviously, it was always going to be hard against a strong City centre-back pairing, and he needed good build-up play and chances created by his team-mates, but you would still expect Kane to have more of an impact on the match than he did.
Without Kane firing, Tottenham are always going to find it difficult. With him not scoring, where do Spurs turn to for goals? He now has just three non-penalty goals in 10 Premier League games this season. He will need to start improving his form soon, or Tottenham may well begin to struggle.
