Tottenham perfectly mastered Manchester City, reigning English champions and gleaned three precious points despite the absence of their star striker Harry Kane, coveted by the Citizens (1-0), Sunday at the end of the first day of the championship. England.
Former Wolverhampton coach Nuno Espirito Santo begins his tenure at the head of Spurs with a resounding victory at home against the Mancunian armada!
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Grouped defense, quick counter-attacks: the recipe was simple but the victory is significant, at the opening of the championship, dominated by Manchester United after the first day.
The London success is all the more striking since it was obtained in the absence of Harry Kane, who was not in the group and who could join City by the end of the transfer window for a sum of between 100 and 150 million, according to the English press.
Citizens uninspired in the last pass
In the first half, despite the presence of rookie Jack Grealish, often in the same area as Raheem Sterling, Manchester City only created chances as a result of Tottenham's defensive errors: a bad exit by Hugo Lloris against in Fernandinho (5th), a ball badly repelled by Eric Dier and which Joao Cancelo did not take advantage of (6th) and a missed shot from Riyad Mahrez who had been left free of any marking at the penalty spot on a Sterling center ( 35th). Tottenham side, several blocks were poorly exploited, even if Heung-min Son was very close to opening the scoring with a shot from outside the area (40th).
The second half looked a lot like the first, with Citizens very domineering (65% possession), but still just as uninspired in the last pass, due to the late entry into play of Kevin De Bruyne and the absence of Phil Foden.
The Spurs continued to be very sharp on the blocks, with the quick Steven Bergwijn and the precise Heung-min Son.
It was this duo that made the difference shortly before the hour mark, with a strike from the South Korean's left which surprised Ederson (55th, 1-0).
In a boiling atmosphere, in front of 58,000 spectators gathered for the first time in eighteen months, the Spurs were able to maintain their lead without really shaking.
Three losses in a row for City
Pep Guardiola had warned in recent weeks that the start of the season could well be as complicated as last year at the same time, for physical issues. This defeat was very reminiscent of the one against Leicester last week in the Community Shield ... or even that against Chelsea in May in the Champions League final. This series of three defeats on an identical score, unprecedented since April 2018, is symptomatic of the offensive ineffectiveness of the Sky Blues - nearly five hours of competition without scoring a goal - and confirms the urgent need to recruit a real successor to Sergio Agüero.
This match sarcastically served as a reminder of how much both teams missed Kane. This one obviously could have better exploited the many counterattacks of Spurs, or on the opposite side convert the few situations that the formation of Pep Guardiola has obtained in the London penalty area. At the end of this first day of the Premier League, Manchester United is the first leader thanks to their victory against Leeds on Saturday (5-1), followed by Chelsea and Liverpool. While West Ham won on Newcastle (4-2) in the early afternoon, five of the top six teams in last season's standings (Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Leicester and West Ham) won their first game.
