Match Report: Slick City Put 5 Past Helpless Spurs
It is often said that scoring just before half time is the best time to do so, but doing at the start of the second period is certainly as good a time as any to knock the stuffing out of your opponents. When a team as good as Manchester City's starts both halves as blisteringly as they did here, there is extremely little chance for any other team to come out still standing.
This was particularly relevant for a Tottenham team that lost 6-0 at the Etihad Stadium only a few months ago and had been torn apart more than once already this season. That day in Manchester, they survived only 13 seconds before conceding. It was close to 15 minutes before Hugo Llori's net bulged here, but within the first 4 Sergio Agüero was rattling the woodwork.
That was a sign of things to come, with City peppering the Tottenham goal with 12 attempts in the opening half hour. A helpless Spurs side managed just one. The WhoScored match forecast had predicted that it was extremely likely that City would score as a result of a through ball, and with eventual man of the match David Silva finding pockets of space between the lines with remarkable ease behind Tottenham's defensively-lacking central midfield. He didn't take long to confirm the prediction, slipping Agüero through for his 15th Premier League goal of the season.
As half time approached, Tottenham sprang into life, with Danny Rose having some luck overlapping a decidedly ineffective returning Gylfi Sigurdsson. He skipped away from or outmuscled Pablo Zabaleta on a few occasions but his final ball was lacking and City cleared time and again. Late in the first half, Rose won a free-kick on that flank, from which Spurs were unfortunate to see a Michael Dawson strike disallowed for offside. The home crowd sensed an opportunity and the team looked like they might take advantage.
But at the start of the second half City had Spurs straight on the back foot even with their star man Agüero forced off with a hamstring injury. Another through ball undid Tottenham, as Edin Dzeko was put in and then felled by a desperate Danny Rose, who might have been unfortunate to be dismissed, but it can be argued that he caught the Bosnian's trailing leg first. Yaya Touré stepped up to net his 12th Premier League goal of the season, making him the fourth highest scorer in the league. Only two minutes later Dzeko made it three and another early-half onslaught had put the game to bed.
Tottenham's solitary goal and the later strikes by City were ultimately inconsequential. The way City had cut through the Tottenham team earlier on put the result beyond doubt before the home side even had a chance. Spurs managed only 4 shots in the whole encounter, compared to City's 24, but still had more shots from outside the box (2) than their opponents (1). The gulf in class was vast and plain to see. While City sliced through Tottenham like a knife through hot butter, Spurs put in their bluntest performance yet under Tim Sherwood. If this City team doesn’t win the league, it will be nothing short of a catastrophe.
What did you make of City’s performance? Are they the best team in the league? Let us know in the comments below
