Manchester United have delayed the Citizens’ confirmation of the 2017-18 Premier League title triumph by a week following a sensational comeback victory at Etihad. In-form Tottenham Hotspur took a similar resolution this evening when his side hosted the mighty Manchester City at Wembley Stadium. Pep Guardiola had the worst week of his managerial realm with three back to back defeat across all competitions ( twice against Liverpool in Champions League along with the Manchester derby) and had another tricky away encounter against Mauricio Pochettino’s men. The Argentine gaffer has done a splendid job at North London and is on the verge of securing a Champions League berth for the upcoming campaign as well. He, however, was determined not to drop points against the league leaders but failed to do so as Manchester City dominated the fixture and registered a comprehensive 3-1 win shaking off the latest shambles.
Below are the Tottenham Hotspur players rated in their disappointing defeat against Manchester City.
Hugo Lloris: 5
The veteran Frenchman had an evening to forget as he conceded a spot-kick which was converted by Ilkay Gundogan to double City’s lead. The challenge from Lloris on Sterling, however, looked outside the box but he should have been more composed throughout the evening.
Kieran Trippier: 6
Did well to contain Leroy Sane down the left but struggled against David Silva who kept on dribbling past the Spurs defensive line. Offered little going forward as he was busy defending deep on most occasions.
Davinson Sanchez: 6
Should have done a lot better to track Vincent Kompany’s long ball and track Gabriel Jesus’ run in City’s first goal. He pulled off some tackles but never looked convincing against the lethal attacking force of the Citizens.
Jan Vertonghen: 6.5
Won duels, took the ball out of defence with forwarding runs but was at fault to deal with Kompany’s long ball that was converted by Jesus to break the deadlock.
Ben Davies: 6.5
Was lucky not to see a red being high on Kompany. The Welshman, however, made some crucial blocks and interceptions and also tried to contribute upfront with crosses from the left.
Eric Dier: 6
Was certainly not the best of his outings in deep down the midfield as he struggled to take the ball out of the defence and run forward to create enough chances for Harry Kane.
Mousa Dembele: 7.5
Tried to dictate the game in search of an equalizer early in the second half but failed to cause enough menace due to the sheer excellence of David Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and fellow countryman Kevin De Bruyne who never let him run the show in the middle of the park. Was replaced by Lucas Moura late in the game due to his inability to dominate the midfield game.
Erik Lamela: 5.5
Avoided a booking for simulation in the first half and remained largely ineffective all evening and eventually got replaced by Heung-Min Son minutes over the hour mark.
Dele Alli: 6
Tried to combine upfront with Kane and Eriksen but failed to make enough impact as a midfield attacker and got replaced by Moussa Sissoko with a few minutes remaining.
Christian Eriksen: 7.5
His stunning run of form continues as he found the back of the net yet again and pulled one back late in the first half to hand the hosts a chance to stage a comeback after the break.
Harry Kane: 5.5
Got his goal against Stoke City ( following the claim of Eriksen’s strike hitting his shoulder) after a successful appeal but failed to close the gap further with Mohamed Salah in Premier League Golden Boot race following a disappointing night at Wembley stadium. He made little impact in opponents box and was well contained by Vincent Kompany.
Substitutes
Heung-Min Son: 5.5
The in-form South Korean was introduced from the bench in place of unimpressive Erik Lamela. The winger, however, tried to explore the width of the pitch but failed to constitute a comeback against the mighty Manchester City.
Lucas Moura: 5.5
Did not had enough touches and failed to create anything spectacular to stage a late comeback.
Moussa Sissoko: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
