Three things we learned from Tottenham's 2-1 League Cup win over Manchester City

10/31/2024 05:30 AM

That was unexpected! Well, not exactly. But kinda.

A fantastic win by Tottenham Hotspur over Manchester City has the Lilywhites through to a quarterfinal tie against Manchester United; unfortunately (for Spurs), sans-Erik ten Hag. A bruising and nail-biting encounter, both sides had chances to progress, but two early goals created enough of a cushion for Ange Postecoglou's squad to see out a notable victory.

Both sides rotated, and both were hit by injury both through and before the match, but that didn't stop Pep Guardiola's side piling on the pressure as the fixture threatened to feel like an away match for Spurs. A strong home crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium helped silence any potential nerves, however, and with so many moments of interest it's hard to narrow a piece like this down... but I will make an attempt.

What did we learn from this tough 2-1 League Cup win? Let's dive in.

Tottenham Hotspur still have City's number

Look, let's be real - this was a match Spurs could have easily lost. City outshot Spurs 15 to 11, with xG sitting at 1.42 - 0.88 to the away team. Spurs could have also put the match to bed earlier, with several dangerous breaks unrealized due to misplaced passes and Timo embracing the Timo paradox™.

Weirdly, though, it doesn't seem to matter how the balance of play goes when Spurs play City.

Manchester City seem to almost be cursed when they play Tottenham; in certain sporting vernacular, one might call it a hoodoo. Alongside Liverpool and (funnily enough) Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur have won the most matches against City since the start of Guardiola's reign. If you narrow that down to the last 6 seasons, Spurs are clear leaders in that metric.

It's strange - Spurs have had multiple managers through that period, varied tactical setups, and a complete overhaul of the players, so it's hard to say exactly goes wrong (or rather, right) when City face Spurs. As for Ange Postecoglou, his record hasn't been exactly great against the other top clubs in the league either; but that didn't stop Spurs from chalking up another win yesterday against the Citizens. At least Spurs didn't hand a Premier League title to Arsenal by doing it late last season.

Postecoglou can be pragmatic

We all love Ange Postecoglou's commitment to his aggressive style of play - if you don't, maybe Spurs are the wrong club to follow (and to be clear, that is not me judging anyone's fandom) - attacking, vibrant football is part of the DNA of this club. In this match, though, Postecoglou took a slightly different approach.

While Spurs still employed their intense high press, once this was bypassed, they would immediately drop into a low block, looking to hit City on the counter. This isn't totally unusual for Spurs, but the shape was slightly different too, with Pape Matar Sarr playing in a more reserved role alongside Rodrigo Bentancur at the base of midfield, each supporting the defensive efforts of the fullbacks and wingers out wide at times while Dejan Kulusevski often acted as an outlet in more of a true #10 role. It was almost more of a 4-4-1-1 shape employed, and the manner of the defensive shape and subsequent counter attacks almost (and I absolutely don't say this to be perjorative) brought to mind the football of Jose Mourinho.

Now, it's hard to say how much of this was pre-planned and how much was a response to the technical passing of the City XI and their ability to dominate the ball, but I'd hazard to say a bit of both - with fixture congestion hitting the side, Ange probably planned for some periods to drop, and his choice to bring on Yves Bissouma for Sarr to shore up the midfield also reflects this.

Whatever the reason, it got Spurs the win, and it's nice to see that Ange does have another string to his bow to pull out when necessary.

Spurs' defense is about to be tested

The Tottenham Hotspur powers-that-be made some strange decisions leading into this season with regards to the defensive makeup of the squad. Not investing in left back depth with Destiny Udogie coming off a significant injury; not naming Djed Spence in the Europa League squad; and expecting both Udogie and the likes of Micky van de Ven to cover that minute shortfall, with the Dutchman also suffering multiple hamstring injuries in recent years.

Well, it looks like those chickens may be coming home to roost now, with van de Ven limping off in tears with another apparent hamstring problem and Cristian Romero being subbed early due to "fatigue". Destiny Udogie is already playing a LOT of minutes, and it looks like that won't be changing any time soon, and we need to hope against hope that he stays fit - because if he doesn't, Spurs are in trouble.

Additionally, Spurs haven't exactly been defensively solid this season. Though the underlying numbers have improved so far this year, there is a notable problem defending the far post. It's something Ange needs to address, with multiple goals in recent weeks being created due to an unmarked player being found by a cross or cutback from the opposite side of the 18-yard box. It's hard to know exactly what the tactical instructions are in these scenarios; is the fullback coming too narrow, or dropping off too early? Is the fullback supposed to be doing that, and if so, is it the winger's or midfielder's job to cover? Is the spacing across the backline in general not quite right?

At this point, it's hard to say, but it's a problem that needs to be fixed if Spurs are to have any success this season, as more and more sides will note this issue and attempt to exploit it. Unfortunately, Ange Postecoglou will likely need to try implement a fix with a weakened backline. Here's hoping he can in time for this weekend's match against London rivals Aston Villa... and the next round against United.