Hits and Flops: Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City
In a blockbuster encounter at the Wembley, red-hot City took on a depleted Spurs side. Pep Guardiola was in no rush to play Kevin De Bruyne and stuck to his tried and tested trio of Sterling, Aguero and Riyad Mahrez. For the Spurs, Dele Alli and Eriksen were still recovering from injury and this gave another opportunity for Lamela in the right wing. Riyad Mahrez opened the scoring for City with a shot from close range after a great pass from Sterling. Tottenham looked pretty lethal in their counterattacks but failed to convert some easy opportunities. In the end, Manchester City won 1-0 and further continued their dominance at the top of the table.
These are the 5 hits and flops from the match;
Hit #1: David Silva
This was yet another scintillating display from the retired Spanish midfield maestro as he was once again at the forefront of his team’s victory. He has been among Premier League’s best playmakers for quite some time now and his performance on Monday was another testimony to his consistency at the top level.
He was the key man behind the first and only goal as he made a great first touch pass to Sterling after receiving an accurate long ball from Ederson. What stood out was his work rate and aggressive pressing to take the ball away from the Spurs midfielders even during the dying moments of the game.
Flop #1: Benjamin Mendy
His place in the team has come under loads of criticism in the recent past and this outing is not going to impress City fans and Pep Guardiola. He was downright awful in the first half as he lost the ball in dangerous areas just outside the City box and rarely made a noteworthy tackle.
Mousa Sissoko, Lamela and Kane went regularly past him with ease and his laziness almost cost City a goal in the first half. He was neither a force in attack and did not contribute anything defensively with the Spurs midfielders constantly passing the ball around him.
City is a top tier European club and Mendy has to perform better to stay in this team in the upcoming matches.