McFlash
In the corner, eating crayons.
- Oct 19, 2005
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Ah, that's just reminded me of that clip with the voice over that I've now got to try to find... ?
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Match Threads Spurs vs Man City - Match Thread - Day 1 - KO 4:30 pm
- Thread starter Bulletspur
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Romario
Well-Known Member
- Aug 3, 2019
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Interestingly enough I had a relatively small wager just before the start of the season on Spurs winning the league
(told you I was the eternal optimist
)
I was given odds of 40/1. Just been back on to top up after yesterdays result (more optimism) and we are down to 33/1
(told you I was the eternal optimist
)I was given odds of 40/1. Just been back on to top up after yesterdays result (more optimism) and we are down to 33/1
Thewobbler
Well-Known Member
- Oct 29, 2016
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The defence has some good protection now. Skipp and PEH. Plus tanganga can actually defend which looks like its making sanchez more comfortable.
Shadydan
Well-Known Member
- Jul 7, 2012
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You're right, City are a bit of a nothing club really, the whole thing just feels manufactured and robotic, feels like a lot of their fans have become over expectant and have forgotten their true roots of being a traditional football club.
I remember not so long ago they were in league 1 and getting 30k at Maine Road and always admired their true fans for sticking by them, obviously it's not the fans fault they are like this now because that's what money does it makes you spoilt but I couldn't imagine the feeling of Spurs fans feeling this numb to having the feeling of true traditions of our football club.
I had the impression that Reggie didn’t get forward as much as he usually does and Tanganga may have got forward more than him.
Shadydan
Well-Known Member
- Jul 7, 2012
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Maybe it was inverted at times in that case, one was told to stay whilst the other one went, dunno need to watch it again.
Gassin's finest
C'est diabolique
- May 12, 2010
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How Nuno repeated Tuchel's trick by using narrow attack to beat Manchester City
City were beaten 1-0 by Tottenham, just as they were in the Champions League final by Chelsea. Nuno used similar tactics to Tuchel
theathletic.com
Manchester City’s 2021-22 started in the same way their 2020-21 ended — with a 1-0 defeat.
Sunday’s loss at Tottenham wasn’t as disheartening as their defeat by Chelsea in the European Cup final, but there was a common pattern in how their opponents set up without possession. Although the 3-4-3 of Thomas Tuchel was different to the 4-3-3 used by Nuno Espirito Santo in his first game as Spurs manager, it’s worth looking at the positioning of the front three.
In Porto, Tuchel evidently told his three attackers to remain in narrow positions and block any passes through the centre of the pitch, as shown below, which largely hampered City’s build-up play — particularly their ability to feed the ball into the centre of midfield.
Nuno, you suspect, watched that performance several times before finalising his tactical approach yesterday. If anything, the positioning of his attacking trio was more extreme. With no Harry Kane, Son Heung-min was flanked by Lucas Moura to the right, and Steven Bergwijn to the left. In reality, though, all three were positioned centrally. Using the centre circle as a guide, there are no more than 20 yards between them here.
And this was Tottenham’s approach throughout the game. This specific situation was significant in various ways.
First, this is clearly a deliberate tactic: it’s not as if Nuno has inherited three players who unquestionably belong in the centre of the pitch and adapted his approach to suit them. Moura and Bergwijn are regarded as natural wingers, and Son has spent most of his Tottenham career starting from the flank, so this is actually a trio comprised of three attackers you would think of as wide players, and yet they’ve been crammed into a very narrow zone in the centre.
Second, it creates a peculiar knock-on effect in deeper positions. Nuno’s approach placed an incredible amount of faith in his full-backs to dominate their individual battles out wide. Japhet Tanganga emerged victorious from his tussle with Raheem Sterling (even if he was fortunate not to have been booked after a succession of fouls, which would have made his job much trickier). More curiously, Spurs’ right winger Lucas had no interest whatsoever in closing down City’s left-back Benjamin Mendy, so that job was often left to right-centre midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. When he pushed up to close down Mendy, this often left space in the channel for Jack Grealish. This is the complete reverse approach from the one that Jose Mourinho used against City last season, which featured Hojbjerg and Moussa Sissoko dropping back into the defence to minimise space in the channel.
Third, Spurs’ attackers were playing this way against a City back four that, as we’ve come to expect, play in a curiously narrow fashion themselves. Often, Pep Guardiola has used one attacking full-back combined with a cautious half-back who tucks inside or pushes into the centre of midfield. Here, both Joao Cancelo and Mendy generally occupied narrow positions, leaving the width entirely to City’s wingers.
This game therefore featured the narrowest defence you’ll ever see against the narrowest attack you’ll ever see. It’s almost difficult to know which side is reacting to the other — Spurs want to occupy the centre of the pitch because they know City will build up from defence in that zone. But Guardiola’s introduction of a very narrow defence — at least originally — was primarily to ensure the defence was close together at defensive transitions, to prevent leaping huge gaps for the opposition to break into. That’s even more imperative if the opposition attackers themselves are narrow.
This was the irony — City were formatted to stop counter-attacks but were vulnerable to them throughout the game. Guardiola blamed his players for rushing ambitious passes and conceding possession too cheaply. He might argue, therefore, that the narrow defence was more necessary than ever. But Spurs constantly found space to burst through the centre, like on this occasion through Bergwijn — City’s back four is roughly intact, but Fernandinho was often bypassed too easily in front.
In this next example, Mendy is out of the picture and Spurs end up breaking, three against three. City’s defence retreats well into a deep and narrow block, but Son might have played an extra pass to the right here, rather than shooting.
There was a familiar pattern after the break. This is the move for Tottenham’s goal. Again, the back four is relatively tight together — at least compared to how it would look if City’s full-backs were overlapping down the touchlines — but it’s through the centre of the pitch that Bergwijn finds space to break into.
In possession, City were alarmingly sluggish when trying to build from the back, and Mendy endured a terrible game. Presumably selected because of his recovery speed against a quick Tottenham attack, he nevertheless looks entirely uncomfortable being asked to play narrow. Oleksandr Zinchenko surely remains a better option.
The one bright spark, however, was Cancelo. For all the talk about Guardiola not playing a conventional defensive midfielder in the Champions League final, it’s worth remembering that Cancelo was also omitted despite an excellent campaign. Here, he showed that he’s capable of playing the full-back role in either manner — he can thread Kevin De Bruyne-esque passes through the opposition from inside-right positions…
…but is also capable of pushing forward on the overlap to deliver good low balls from wide, such as this one that narrowly evaded Ferran Torres.
The external focus will be on the full return of De Bruyne, the contributions of Grealish and the continuing rumours about Kane but Guardiola will be thinking most intensely about the positioning of his defensive unit.
Next week’s home meeting with Norwich shouldn’t be too much of a problem, but a run of games against Arsenal, Leicester, Southampton, Chelsea and Liverpool afterwards looks tougher. City recovered from a slow start last season, but that could be much trickier this time around.
For Nuno, though, this was an ideal opening-day performance: tactically intelligent, different from the approach of his unpopular predecessor, and a victory.
Gassin's finest
C'est diabolique
- May 12, 2010
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riggi
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- Jun 24, 2008
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Rout-Ledge
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- Jul 29, 2005
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Any messages from Harry Kane congratulating his team mates on a great win in his absence?
TheTanguy
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- Sep 30, 2020
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Shadydan
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- Jul 7, 2012
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How Nuno repeated Tuchel's trick by using narrow attack to beat Manchester City
City were beaten 1-0 by Tottenham, just as they were in the Champions League final by Chelsea. Nuno used similar tactics to Tuchel
The funny thing is Mason set the team up the same way in the cup final, although Nuno must probably did some minor tweaks here and there.
Spurslove
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- Jul 6, 2012
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Gassin's finest
C'est diabolique
- May 12, 2010
- 37,606
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@Japhet I just remembered that you and I had those conversations about us crying out for 4-3-3, years ago.How Nuno repeated Tuchel's trick by using narrow attack to beat Manchester City
City were beaten 1-0 by Tottenham, just as they were in the Champions League final by Chelsea. Nuno used similar tactics to Tuchel
Its only one game, but its a damn good sign.
Japhet
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- Aug 30, 2010
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Hope it continues. You need 2 absolute machines in a CM2 which we haven't had since prime Dembele/Wanyama. You might get away with it against weaker teams but there aren't many of them any more. At least Nuno recognizes that you need to be compact and not expect players to cover huge areas defensively like Mourinho did, especially when Winks is one of them. We took the fight to MC on Sunday but with Mourinho's preferred tactics we'd have been camped in our own box. People will say we beat them 2-0 last year but won't acknowledge that we got absolutely battered and grabbed 2 breakaway goals. It was hardly a tactical masterclass.
Gassin's finest
C'est diabolique
- May 12, 2010
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Skipp makes it possible.
Gilzeanking
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- May 7, 2005
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I'm trying not to read too much into the City game . They always let us play . What we hate is an intense oppo playing defensively and crowding us and there's more of those sort of games ahead imo .
