In the final minutes, making his debut for City, Gabriel Jesus arrived at the back post to score and was well into his celebrations by the time he noticed a ball-boy sheepishly pointing across the pitch to the linesman’s raised flag on the other side. So near, yet so far. This sums up the day for Manchester City who came so, so close to scoring on numerous occasions but eventually left the stadium with a single point to show for all their dominance.
A first half display which was reminiscent of earlier meetings between these two sides ended 0-0 with City failing to convert but two inadvertent Hugo Lloris mistakes made sure City led 2-0 in no time. But a Dele Alli header followed by a Son goal made sure Pep Guardiola did not get to celebrate his birthday week in the manner he would have liked.
Let us take a look at the talking points from the match-
PEP GUARDIOLA’S CALLS GO UNANSWERED
The Catalan has time and again urged his players to be decisive in both the boxes whether it be his defenders or his attackers and time and again they have failed to do so. As against Everton, after they failed to seize the opportunity, the opponents came back and 4-0, similarly, they missed numerous chances which would have put them 4-0 or something at least. And the same old story unfolded with Spurs getting back with 2 goals. Their frustrating displays in front of goal need to be altered quickly, else a fight for the Top 4 is looking likely.
VIDEO TECHNOLOGY THE ANSWER?
With the standard of refereeing falling to preposterous levels gradually, there might be a strong case for the adverts of Video Technology in football. With a couple of important errors the norm in every game these days, the mistakes are having a bearing on the result of the match increasingly, which is not a good sign at all. The authorities have to now decide which con they decide will be more harmful in the long run. (Although, the blatant push by Walker on Sterling did not need a video replay to be given a penalty).
GABRIEL JESUS SHOWS ENOUGH IN THE CAMEO
A 10-minute appearance can never be the yardstick for any display of any magnitude but the sprightly Jesus showed his comfort and his confidence in the short burst he was afforded. He will get better chances and importantly get involved in the play in a more systematic manner but his off-side goal and his couple of attempts and the eventually-futile celebration showed that he can fit right in.
