How Spurs beat Pep’s City

Manchester City crashed to their first defeat of the Pep Guardiola era on Sunday. Peter Smith looks at how Tottenham did it…

Tottenham handed Pep Guardiola his first Premier League defeat with a 2-0 win over Manchester City at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

The win lifts Spurs up to second in the table, just one point behind City, and means the north London club have made their best-ever start to a league campaign.

An Aleksandar Kolarov own goal and Dele Alli strike in the first half did the damage, and Spurs could even afford a missed penalty from Erik Lamela.

It’s the first league game Guardiola has lost away from home since last December, and ends City’s 11-game unbeaten start under the Spaniard.

So how did Spurs do it? We take a look…

Put the pressure on

Guardiola is famed for his intensive, high-pressing style, but Mauricio Pochettino’s men gave the City boss a taste of his own medicine at White Hart Lane. Spurs were tireless. They covered 118.8km to City’s 114.8km and outsprinted their visitors with 647 bursts to 609.

That equated to City’s players being rushed in possession, robbed high up the field and Spurs winning back the ball in dangerous areas. “Their effort was fantastic,” Pochettino said of his team after the game. “There’s no denying [City] are a brilliant football side but we knew if we got in their faces and kept working hard we’d create chances,” added Dele Alli.

It’s a method Pochettino has used to his advantage before against Guardiola. While at Espanyol, the Argentine enjoyed a famous victory at the Nou Camp by getting on the front foot against Barcelona. 

But it wasn’t just with Spurs’ running that they put the pressure on. They …

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