Manchester City locked horns with Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier this evening hoping to return to winning ways in the Premier League. The visitors made a poor start to the contest as they conceded the opener in the 5th minute when Heung-min Son scored with a tidy finish from close range. Pep Guardiola’s men struggled to break the Spurs defence down and went into the half-time interval one-goal down.
Both teams fought tooth and nail in the early stages of the second half before Giovani Lo Celso came off the bench to score the decisive second goal for Tottenham which left Man City with a mountain to climb. The North London giants defended valiantly as Guardiola saw his players suffer a 2-0 defeat away at the English capital.
Let’s take a look at how each Man City player fared during the match against Spurs.
GK: Ederson – 5/10
The Brazilian goalie would be disappointed for not doing better when attempting to stop Son’s goal in the 5th minute. He looked far from convincing and ended up letting in two goals today which will disappoint him.
RB: Kyle Walker – 5.5/10
The English speedster was lacklustre with his passing and put in a disjointed display at the right-back position. He was also at fault for getting caught off-guard in the lead-up to Lo Celso’s goal in the second 45 minutes.
CB: Ruben Dias – 6/10
Dias could have done better to prevent Spurs’ opener. However, he did well to restrict Harry Kane from finding the back of the net during the 90 minutes.
CB: Aymeric Laporte – 5/10
He scored a great goal in the first half but saw his effort chalked off by VAR. Defensively, Laporte was not at his best, much to the displeasure of Guardiola.
LB: Joao Cancelo – 5.5/10
Cancelo worked his socks off but failed to make a telling contribution in the opposition half.
CM: Bernardo Silva – 5/10
The Portuguese player retained possession well without creating too much in the final third.
CM: Rodri – 6.5/10
Rodri deserves credit for showing a lot of grit in the face of adversity. However, his performance levels dipped in the second half.
CM: Kevin De Bruyne – 5.5/10
The Belgian international tried his best to get forward but lacked the cutting edge in the attacking third. He would be hoping for more productive displays in the coming weeks.
LW: Ferran Torres – 5/10
Torres began the game brightly, but his impact in the game faded as the match wore off.
ST: Gabriel Jesus – 5/10
The Brazilian striker put in a tireless shift but didn’t get too many clear-cut chances to score during the 90 minutes.
RW: Riyad Mahrez – 4.5/10
The Algerian international struggled to give a good account of himself in the final third and was the one responsible for giving away the ball, which led to Spurs’ decisive second goal of the day.
Substitutes:
LW: Raheem Sterling – 5/10
The English dribbler offered very little after coming off the bench.
CAM: Phil Foden – 5/10
Foden didn’t have too many bright moments after coming on for the final 18 minutes of the clash.
