Luke Adcock
Manchester City smashed Tottenham 4-1 at the Etihad, making it 17 wins from 18 games in the league this season. A remarkable record, and a remarkable team, who were simply too much for Spurs to handle. Here’s five things we learned from the game.
Man City are going to win the league
Tottenham were the only team remaining in the league that Man City hadn’t beaten yet, and therefore were the last ones to try and stop them from walking the league. But, as they have done with all the other teams so far, City walked all over them, destroying a usually-solid defence and making world-class goalkeeper Hugo Lloris look ordinary.
Having beaten every team but Everton so far this season, it looks as though no-one can possibly stop them. Could they even go unbeaten this season? Nothing is beyond the realms of possibility at this moment in time.
Tottenham have their work cut out
Dropping to 7th in the league after this defeat, Spurs have work to do to get back up the table and establish themselves as one of the top sides in the Premier League. They need their best players to hit top form so they can begin to get results against last season’s top six, something they’ve struggled with.
Alongside a promising Champions League campaign and still the FA Cup to contend with, Tottenham and manager Mauricio Pochettino will need to pull out all the stops to try and get Spurs playing well in all competitions.
Alderweireld has been a massive loss
Toby Alderweireld has been injured for a while, and is even rumoured to not be fit until April. He is such a key figure in Tottenham’s team, not just for his brilliant ability in the middle of the Spurs defence, but also for his presence on the pitch which Tottenham have been missing.
Adding to the absence of Davinson Sanchez against City meant Tottenham were very weak at the back, and they desperately need their star defender back to bolster the team and get back to the kind of performances where they were beating Liverpool 4-1.
Tottenham’s stars need competition
Mentioned in the past but still relevant – Kane, Eriksen, Alli and Son have no competition for their positions, and therefore can get complacent as their places in the team are guaranteed. Tottenham need to introduce a couple of new faces to shake off this mindset, and ensure that all of these players work harder and have to fight for their place in the team.
Spurs fans would welcome a couple of high-profile signings in January to bolster the squad and help them to compete in the league, Champions League and FA Cup in the second half of the season.
City have no weak links
Everyone on the pitch for City is brilliant – their attack is frightening, and their defence is solid. The midfield are also extremely talented which provides a perfect link between the two. Kevin De Bruyne was a joy to watch on Saturday, threading balls through and running the show in the middle of the park, even grabbing a well-taken goal. Ex-Spurs man Kyle Walker also played really well, which is frustrating for Spurs as Kieran Trippier was run ragged by Leroy Sane.
As well as Sane, Sterling also terrorised Tottenham, the two even combining for Sterling to score one of his two goals. Ederson also performed well, in the rare instances he was tested by Spurs. There’s no one in the City team who is a weak link, so how can teams beat them?