Tottenham 1-3 Manchester City: 3 things that went right for Manchester City
Manchester City cruised to their 28th victory in the Premier League following a hellish 10-day span that involved back-to-back losses to Liverpool, a Derby defeat to what had looked like a down-and-out United and Champions League elimination.
Facing a top team for the fourth time in a row, Pep Guardiola's men did well to shrug off the pressure and get a 3-1 win against Tottenham at the Wembley.
City made three changes from the ignominious 2nd leg defeat to Liverpool; Vincent Kompany, Fabian Delph, and Ilkay Gundogan replaced Nicolas Otamendi, Bernardo Silva, and the suspended Fernandinho.
Gabriel Jesusand Gundogan helped City take the lead in the first half. Christian Eriksen's goal gave the Tottenham fans a ray of hope which was quashed by Raheem Sterling who scored the third to secure as many points.
Should Man United lose to West Brom at Old Trafford, Guardiola and co. could well start the party. However, should their arch-rivals win, Man City can confirm the title against Swansea next weekend.
On that note, let's have a glance at the three points the Cityzens were spot on in the fixture.
#3 Man City balanced their aggression pretty well
Attack is the best form of defence.
That's what Manchester City have followed this season, playing swashbuckling football. However, Pep Guardiola has been criticized for following a one-dimensional approach to the games.
His team has focused far too much on pressurizing, attacking and scoring goals while denying attention to their defensive weaknesses. The approach did cost them a longer stay in the Champions League coupled with a derby loss to Manchester United.
But that wasn't going to be the case today.
Guardiola's men were at their menacing best but their defensive improvements were visible throughout the game. There were times when their backline looked a bit shaky, but they did manage to hold Spurs at bay in the end.
City was good at balancing their aggression and rarely found themselves out of position when they were not in possession. They looked confident in the first half and dominated Pochettino's men by exploiting the space afforded to them by Tottenham. However, as intensely as they attacked, City showed equal determination in holding on to their lead.