Manchester City have an abundance of talent and they also happen to work very hard. All eyes were on City this weekend as they welcomed the new coolest kid on the block Ange Postecoglou and his injury ridden Tottenham team.
Its no secret this program is very fond of Ange and his work at Spurs this season. In very a short span of time, Ange has been able to transform Tottenham from a vintage Italian style defense-first setup to free flowing fluid attacking football all the while having lost their greatest player of all time in Harry Kane as well Kane’s quasi replacement in James Maddison to injury.
The hosts, Manchester City, conceded 3 goals but they were equally able to put 3 past the excellent Guglielmo Vicario; one goal was especially easy on the eyes.
Figure 1.0
It’s a helpless cross but as with most attacking plays it almost always starts with Bernardo Silva to Erling Haaland for Manchester City this season. Stuck on the right side, Silva realizes the statistically high value play of crossing to Haaland in the box, regardless of the fact he has 3 defenders watching him; Tottenham at this point know the danger-man.
Figure 2.0
The cross is poor and easily cleared by Emerson Royal who last season could barely play his preferred right-back position and this match is being asked a generational forward player.
This is the breaking point - the two teams are evenly matched in scoreline. Man City has threatened and showed some very decent patterns of play but Tottenham strategy has more or less worked.
Figure 3.0
When the ball is cleared by Royal a duel is created for everyone involved in Figure 3.0. Talent and tactics can win you games but it’s the focus and effort behind these pillars that builds your legacy.
Julián Álvarez who is about 5’7 wins an uncontested header; that’s effort. This is an enormous problem for Bissouma who does not challenge or accept the duel and for Brennan Johnson whose body shape is not prepared for what’s to come.
Figure 4.0
Joško Gvardiol, who is not even in our viewing frame in figure 3.0 wins another consecutive duel for Manchester City to control Álvarez’s loose ball and lay it off to Haaland.
Figure 5.0
You already know Haaland is much more than a tap-in merchant. The forward lays the ball to Doku and Manchester City can now set-up an attacking motion.
Kevin De Bruyne & Álvarez are completely and totally different players but with De Bruyne’s absence, it’s been Álvarez who has benefitted with the added game-time and the Argentine has been exceptional.
There’s a formula for effort & talent that’s unstoppable, Pep knows this better than anyone. Return to Figure 3.0 and it’s Álvarez’s effort to win a loose ball that has brought us to this point.
Now we see Álvarez’s talent and IQ, understanding Tottenham straight line defense, Álvarez’s know he simply needs to make a run into space to create danger.
Figure 6.0
Bissouma has already lost 1 duel due to a lack of focus and effort to Álvarez in figure 3.0, in Figure 6.0 a second duel is lost.
Álvarez receives the ball back to goal unmarked.
Ben Davies is left on an island; Bissouma left him there. Davies has one priority at this point and its close down Álvarez, do not allow him to turn.
Figure 7.0
Return to Figure 6.0 and compare with Figure 7.0 and the fact that Udogie is the closest Spurs player to Foden is wildly disappointing for the standing-still Bissouma.
Yves Bissouma has had an excellent season and it’s undeniable that his talent in the number 6 position has had an enormous influence on how Tottenham are able to play.
At this level, with this much elite talent and tactical nous, it comes down to the fine margin of effort and focus that is given by those involved. Nobody understands this better than Pep Guardiola.