Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Manchester City: 5 Talking Points, Premier League 2018-19
Manchester City’s resilient defence helped them beat Tottenham on a horrendous Wembley pitch. Just six minutes in, Riyad Mahrez tapped into an empty net to give City the lead after Raheem Sterling cut the ball back to the Algerian.
In the second half, both sides had opportunities to change the scoreline as David Silva let a golden chance slip away, and Erik Lamela blazed a close-range effort over the bar. However, City would eventually sit back and defend their lead comfortably to move to the top of the Premier League table.
Here are five talking points from the match:
#1 Mahrez continues rich vein of form
At the beginning of the season, there were question marks over Mahrez and whether he would live up to the £60 million transfer fee that Manchester City paid for him in the summer, but in recent weeks the Algerian has certainly looked like he is capable of doing so.
Tonight was by far his best game yet in a City shirt, as he illustrated he has both the ability to be a threat at one end and track back to help his side defensively. After just six minutes the Algerian was already on the scoresheet at Wembley. Raheem Sterling made it in behind Kieran Trippier with ease and cut it back to him to finish into an open net.
On the half-hour mark, the former Leicester City man almost had a brace, but unfortunately for him, Lloris was able to claw his weak footed effort on to the post and out for a corner.
Throughout the game, the winger caused Ben Davies troubles, but in addition to that, he did a very good job of helping out his full-back Kyle Walker. Lucas Moura had a very quiet night and Kyle Walker obviously played a huge part in that, but he also had Mahrez to thank for his defensive work, something many people didn’t think he was interested in doing.
The Algerian now has four goals in his last five Manchester City games, as he has begun to show he most definitely warrants a place in City’s starting lineup.