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Flop: Oleksandr Zinchenko
During the first half – which was bossed by Manchester City – left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko was one of the champions’ most outstanding players. The Ukrainian left Son Heung Min with no room to operate and cut him off on numerous occasions, while also using the ball wisely.
The lone black mark on him was a needless booking; when Raheem Sterling went down under the challenge of Hugo Lloris, a melee broke out between the players and Zinchenko sprinted into the middle of it while showing plenty of aggression. Few could’ve guessed how it would cost City dearly.
Early in the second half, the Ukrainian was beaten by Harry Winks, and cynically stepped across the England man to stop a breakaway attack. But of course, while the foul only warranted a yellow card, it was Zinchenko’s second, and he was duly dismissed.
With City down to 10 men, Spurs then had the confidence to press forward and eventually win the match. Would they have done that had City remained with 11 men? Probably not, which makes Zinchenko today’s biggest flop.
Hit: Harry Winks
Today marked Harry Winks’ 24th birthday, and thankfully, after the result that his Spurs side pulled off against Manchester City, he’ll be able to celebrate well tonight. The England international was paired with Giovani Lo Celso in the centre of Tottenham’s midfield, and over the course of 90 minutes, worked just as hard as any other player on the pitch.
Admittedly, Winks’ passing accuracy wasn’t quite as high as it normally is; today he averaged a completion rate of 78% compared to his Premier League average of 89.8%, but he was still a key man for Jose Mourinho’s side, consistently pressing City’s attackers, stealing the ball back when he could, and beginning Tottenham’s attacks from a deeper role. And it was of course his breakaway that led to Oleksandr Zinchenko’s red card – the turning point of the game.
Winks has now played the last 4 of Spurs’ Premier League fixtures from the start, and it looks like his partnership with Lo Celso could be one worth keeping faith with, as the Argentine’s ball-winning abilities and creativity paired with the England man’s passing ability gives Spurs a lot of traction.
If nothing else, today will be a birthday for Winks to remember.
