Photo credit: Sports Vision
The battle kicked off with Pep Guardiola making a bold tactical change to start the game in a 442 formation. After defender Cancelo's loan move to Bayern, Rico Lewis jumped into the center of the defense and played at left back for this match, while Walker played at right back. Guardiola withdrew DeBruyne and Gündogan, leaving Rodri and B.Silva in midfield.
(starting lineup)
The formation showed its boundaries right from the start, as Tottenham's 343 formation compressed the midfield so tightly that City looked thin in the middle and unthreatening in the center of the pitch, and had to turn to the flanks more often than not. However, Tottenham's defense was tight on both flanks, especially Emerson on the right flank almost completely locking down Grealish, giving the opponent no chance to get down the field. On the other flank, Mahrez was too weak to break through, and striker Haaland was also tired, caught in a crowd of Spurs defenders and unable to provide support for his teammates.
Spurs took the lead on 15 minutes when Rodri tried to pass to RicoLewis at the back post, but Højbjerg quickly stole the ball from the back, drove straight into the box and crossed to HarryKane, who scored from 12 yards to give Tottenham a 1-0 lead and make HarryKane their all-time leading scorer.
Photo credit: Sports Vision
City tried to step up their attack, but Tottenham's duo of Højbjerg and Bentangcur were in good form, constantly intercepting City's passes into the central area, where Alvarez was isolated. Once Spurs took the lead, they used their speed to launch a counter-attack, and despite City's solid defense, there was nothing they could do about the situation.
Photo credit: Sports Vision
The second half started with Tottenham still in the ascendancy and City were passing the ball around the perimeter a lot, but always lacked a key strike. Pep Guardiola brought on DeBruyne and removed Mahrez at the 59:00 mark, but DeBruyne's performance remained flat. The same could be said for Gündogan. City increased the number of direct passes and posed some threat to Spurs, but didn't really create a shooting opportunity, while Spurs mixed it up with City in the middle of the pitch.
Romero was eventually sent off in the 87th minute for tripping Grealish and turning two yellows into one red. City had the advantage for a while, but time was running out, and Spurs eventually beat City 1-0 at home.
Currently, Manchester City has 45 points from 21 games, and there is still a distance from Arsenal, which has 50 points from 20 games. Missing the chance to catch up points from Arsenal's loss in this round may make it more difficult to catch up with Arsenal in the next round.
