London, Nov 22 - Spurs produced a display of tactical discipline and efficiency in their 2-0 win over Manchester City which took them towards the top of the Premier League. It was their second consecutive win over their northern opponents and a delighted manager, Jose Mourinho said: “I’m super happy and super proud of them. They were fantastic. They gave everything. They followed a strategy and more than ever strategy plays an important part.”
Mourinho, who joined the club a year ago was full of praise for all his players and particularly mentioned the performance of his centre forward. “Every player did his job in an amazing way. Harry Kane represents the spirit of all the guys. The way he works for the team is the way all the others do it. He can change the way people look at a striker. I congratulate the person who made him man of the match because a striker can be man of the match if he does not score.” He added: “This spirit is the DNA of the team. It’s a good feeling to be home tonight.”
This win over City led by his old nemesis Pep Guardiola was a Mourinho masterclass. It wasn’t just the clinical finish that brought two superb goals but it was the tactics that counted in the end. Mourinho sensed the opposition’s weakness and exploited it. He knew they were vulnerable in defence — despite the back five players that Guardiola fielded was signed for a combined figure of £267.4million — so he allowed them possession for long periods and then hit them hard on the counter-attack ensuring that the two clear shots he had on target brought the right result each time.
Spurs went into early lead, within five minutes of the start, a scooped pass from Tanguy Ndombele took four defenders out of the game. It left Son Heung-min to advance, running on to the pass and beat Ederson which he did with his typical calmness and clinical finishing.
City had a goal by Aymeric Laporte disallowed half-way through the first half for handball by Gabriel Jesus. It was ruled out by VAR with arguments raging yet again on the rules applied. Another City opportunity to equalise was lost when Jesus dithered and allowed Toby Alderweireld to make a fine blocking tackle. Five minutes into the second half City missed another chance to equalise when Kevin De Bruyne’s low shot went inches wide from the edge of the box. Despite City’s dominance and having almost twice the possession, Spurs doubled their lead. Giovani Lo Celso replaced Ndombele in the 65th minute and within 35 seconds of arrival he picked up a pinpoint pass from Kane and drilled his shot inside the far post.
Guardiola, who has recently signed a new two-year contract with the club, said: “We have to start winning games. We made chances but are struggling to score goals. Ten goals in nine games is not good enough.”
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