Manchester City 0–4 Tottenham Hotspur: The Afterthought
A win so good that it will have sent shivers down the spines of every top club in Europe. A win so good that it will frustrate the Spurs fans more than please them, so why can’t they do this every week? They clearly can brush aside even the most dangerous teams in the league. A win so good that it just might reignite Spurs’ faltering season. So, what did we learn from the Spurs’ hammering of City?
Dejan Kulusevski is emerging as the biggest plus…
James Maddison will get all the plaudits from the win against Manchester City, but Kulusevski was a threat throughout the game. He was everything that you could have asked from an attacker in a game with such high stakes. Dejan was everywhere. He ran down the channel, linked up play, played killer passes, and then tracked back to help out the defence. It was a complete performance from the Swede.
Maddison turning the corner?
THIS was it. James Maddison was brought to Spurs for these sorts of performances. More of these, please? Maddison was a thorn in the City side right from the beginning. After a nervy start, Spurs dominated Manchester City, and Maddison, along with Kulusevksi, was at the heart of everything.
Not many players score two goals at the Etihad, and Maddison showed his class by dismantling the nervy City defence. His movement for both goals and his interplay with Son and Kulusevski were outstanding. After a below-average start to the season, will this performance finally kickstart Maddison’s career at Spurs?
Can Spurs FINALLY build on this performance?
We don’t have to say this; everyone has seen Spurs perform this season. It has always been Jackal and Hyde. If Spurs do not build on this performance, then chances are they will have a very up-and-down season. This should be the catalyst for Ange and his squad because despite missing their starting central defenders, Spurs looked comfortable—massive credit to Dragusin and Davies for efficiently dealing with Haaland, Foden, and Savinho.
With Spurs already in the quarter-finals of the League Cup and doing well in the Europa League despite rocky performances, this win should catapult their confidence to the max. If Spurs can consistently deliver these sorts of performances, then there is a definite chance they will end up with silverware by the end of the season. All hands on the pump!