Tottenham 2 – 1 Manchester City – Review

Tottenham recorded a close-fought, entertaining 2 – 1 victory over Manchester City at White Hart Lane on Saturday to kill off the European aspirations of the Blues, whilst further strengthening the Lilywhites’ position in the Premier League table. A controversial refereeing decision from the normally reliable Mark Halsey effectively decided this contest, with the man in black awarding a questionable penalty to Spurs, coolly slotted home by Robbie Keane. Earlier goals from Jermaine Defoe and Valeri Bojinov had cancelled each other out, but it was a heartbreaking way to lose the game for the Blues.

Thanks to this defeat, City remain in tenth position in the table, just a miserly two points ahead of Stoke, whilst Tottenham head into the final game of the season still in contention for seventh place, currently lying two points and one place behind Fulham. The Blues move on to face Bolton at the City of Manchester Stadium next Sunday, whilst Spurs travel to Liverpool on the same day. The result extends Tottenham’s remarkable run against City, meaning that the Londoners have now won the past six Premier League meetings between the sides 2 – 1.

Just to add one further point – it was a pleasant surprise to hear Ian Cheeseman, the chief commentator on BBC Radio Manchester, coin a phrase that I had used in this blog to describe Robbie Keane’s “ill-fated sojourn at Liverpool”. Ian, if you’re reading this, which I suspect you are, keep up the good work and tell Fred Eyre that he’s a legend!

Ian “Cheddar” Cheeseman clearly enjoys reading this blog

Team News

Blues boss Mark Hughes was dealt a pre-match blow when influential winger Shaun Wright-Phillips failed to recover in time from his injury, and already deprived of the services of Robinho, it meant that an attacking reshuffle was required. In came Bulgarian midfielder Martin Petrov on the left of an attacking triumvirate, but that was the only change from the side that was defeated by Manchester United in the previous match. City’s bench looked particularly strong, with the likes of Valeri Bojinov and Pablo Zabaleta surprisingly joined by Benjani Mrawurawi and Danny Sturridge, both of whom had made much-quicker-than-expected recoveries.

Tottenham were deprived of a number of their star players, with the likes of Darren Bent, Michael Dawson and Aaron Lennon all sidelined, but Harry Redknapp still selected an attack-minded line-up, featuring Robbie Keane, Jermaine Defoe and Roman ‘Good Surname For Scrabble’ Pavlyuchenko. Former City defender Vedran Ćorluka started at right-back for the home side, for whom captain Ledley King played despite being arrested during the week.

City Line-Up (4-2-3-1)

                                              Given

Richards                 Dunne                   Onuoha                    Bridge

                              de Jong                 Kompany

Elano                                    Ireland                                    Petrov

                                            Caicedo

Subs: Hart, Zabaleta, Berti, Fernandes, Sturridge, Mrawurawi, Bojinov

Luka Modrić and Wayne Bridge attempt the tango as they compete for the ball

Report

This fixture was crucial to both sides as they pushed for the final Europa League spot, but it was Tottenham who started the stronger and only two minutes had elapsed when Jermaine Defoe had a goal correctly ruled offside. Despite that early excitement, the tempo of the game was soporific, although Defoe nearly relieved the boredom by forcing Shay Given into a full-length sprawling save. City were looking very poor, with the rusty Martin Petrov a particular culprit, firing a cross way beyond Stephen Ireland. Given kept the scores level soon after with another diving save from Pavlyuchenko’s curling effort, but it was clear that the home side were firmly in the ascendancy.

With Spurs looking very strong, especially in the centre of the park, where Jermaine Jenas and Tom Huddlestone were overpowering City’s two holding midfielders, it was no surprise that the opening goal arrived shortly before the half hour mark. The afore-mentioned Huddlestone crossed from the right and Defoe nipped in front of the defence to cheekily guide the ball past Given. It was no more than the hosts deserved and it was a major setback for City’s European hopes.

Defoe scored to give Spurs the lead in the first half

To add insult to injury, no pun intended, Elano was replaced shortly afterwards, claiming blurred vision for the reason behind his departure. Up until this point, the Brazilian had been on the end of some physical challenges from opposing defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto, but Elano had to be treated by the club doctor in case of emergency. Argentinean international Pablo Zabaleta, who was unfortunate in the first place to be named on the bench, was introduced to the action, albeit in an unaccustomed right-wing role. 

The rest of the half was a dull affair with Spurs seemingly content to sit on their lead, whilst the Blues lacked any sort of penetration. Not even an amusing incident at the end of the half, involving a linesman lying on his backside in agony, could brighten City’s mood and the visitors were sure to be on the receiving end of a Mark Hughes rollicking.

Poor old Andy Garratt had to replaced at half-time, suffering from injury after being felled by Defoe

As the second period began, it was do or die for the Blues, and they started in a positive manner, with Petrov looking more energetic than usual. But the Bulgarian was replaced on the hour mark after Hughes opted to make a double substitution. The ineffective Felipe Caicedo made way along with Petrov, and they were replaced by Valeri Bojinov and Benjani as the Blues changed not just personnel, but also their formation.

From a corner, captain Richard Dunne showed just why he is a defender by lashing over from inside the box, but it was not long before the changes took effect, as the Blues drew level on 64 minutes. Stephen Ireland looped a ball forward, Benjani flicked the ball on and Bojinov was on hand to belt a half-volley home, leaving Heurelho Gomes with no chance.

The not-so-popular Valeri Bojinov celebrates his goal on his own

The double change had sparked some life into the Blues, and now, more than ever, they sensed the urge to attack. Ireland was becoming more involved in the game and City were pouring forward at every opportunity. Bojinov should have done better with an overhead kick, but as the match entered its final few minutes, the outcome was very much still in the balance.

And then, the major turning point of the game. So often we criticise the referee for making incorrect decisions, and so often, it is these decisions which affect a match, and that was the case again at White Hart Lane, when, with just five minutes left on the clock, Mark Halsey awarded Tottenham a debatable-to-say-the-least penalty. As a cross was whipped over from the right, Micah Richards and Frazier Campbell, recently on for Pavlyuchenko, seemed to tangle legs. It was nothing major; the ball was never going to reach the striker, but Halsey decided to award a penalty nonetheless. Robbie Keane, a perennial scorer against City, stepped up and sent his international teammate Shay Given the wrong way to hand Spurs the advantage. Their European dreams were still on, whilst City’s had been crushed.

 
Shay Given complains to Mark Halsey before Robbie Keane sends the ‘keeper the wrong way

Key Battles

Vedran Ćorluka ‘v’ Martin Petrov

The former City defender would have marked Petrov in training last season on a plethora of occasions, so the Croat would have known what to exect fromthe pacy winger. Unfortunately for City, Petrov was nowhere near being match-fit, thus failing to cause Ćorluka any serious problems. Vedran supported his countryman Modrić quite well in attack, so the winner is Ćorluka.

Luka Modrić ‘v’ Micah Richards

Modrić, unusually for him, occupied the right-wing role so he never came into direct competition with England hopeful Richards. Micah seemed as if he was recovering some of last season’s form, attacking well and looking solid, so overall, due to a pair of decent performances, this contest is a Draw.

Robbie Keane ‘v’ Richard Dunne

These two international compatriots and best friends both had superb games. Keane tended to drift out to the left in order to try to capitalise on Micah Richards’s defensive weaknesses, but despite his winning goal, he never truly dominated the match. Dunne and Nedum Onuoha were arguably two of City’s best perfromers, so this contest is another Draw. 

Harry Redknapp guided his team to another victory over City

Summary

A massively deflating and disappointing defeat for City, which means that it is the end of their European aspirations. This is a huge blow in terms of players who we can attract in the summer, but over the course of the season, our form in general, in the main part courtesy of our results on the road, has not been good enough to warrant seventh place. This match further highlighted the fact that Felipe Caicedo is not good enough for the Premier League, let alone the Conference North, but Mark Hughes surely knows this and will look to rectify it in the summer. Yet again, City missed the pace of Shaun Wright-Phillips, Craig Bellamy and a fully fit Martin Petrov, but Tottenham looked sharper to the ball and seemed to want the win more than the Blues.