Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris, Heung-min Son set stage for Spurs in massive blown chance at Man City
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At least Tottenham did not do Arsenal any favors in the title race. Every cloud and all that. But the silver lining is rather a sliver for Spurs and Antonio Conte, who cannot even rely on their annual smash and grab at the Etihad for three points this season.
It was there for the taking. In the first half City turned off the alarms and opened the front door for Spurs to storm through on the counter. Ederson took it upon himself to usher Dejan Kulsevski into the heart of the penalty area. No wonder the Etihad greeted the half time whistle with boos.
Yet Tottenham’s response to being in the ascendancy was the stuff of “Spursy” cliches, the sort of collapse that Antonio Conte was appointed to root out. At both ends of the pitch, key players hampered the cause, Hugo Lloris expanding his repertoire of errors as Heung-min Son offered further indications that this is no wobble, that the 30-year-old has entered his decline.
Champions League qualification looks ever more unlikely for Spurs, who trail Newcastle and Manchester United by five points having played a game more. Without it would Conte stay? Should he? Would Kane? One win would not have changed these great existential questions that hover over Tottenham but it would have brought breathing room for all parties. That victory was there for the taking, at least for a while.
For 45 minutes City’s control was of the passive, conservative variety, Pep Guardiola’s worst habits unleashed in Kevin De Bruyne’s absence. All the possession, all the patience, none of the penetration. Rico Lewis was excellent in the role that he was tasked with, drifting from right-back to make a third midfielder, but his presence in the center of the pitch only served to further stodge up central areas. The progression through the gears was agonizingly slow and Spurs were only too willing to give their opponents time to ease up the pitch.
After all, it is hardly the worst strategy to wait for the mistake that has come all too frequently of late from City. The risks that come with Ederson’s cavalier play with the ball at his feet are offset by the rewards that come with his contribution to the possession game, but every once in a while he will pick the inopportune moment to ask a little something of Rodri. On this occasion Rodrigo Bentancur stole in, Kulusevski punishing the error in emphatic fashion. In the cavalcade of chaos that was this Totttenham performance, the Swede brought grace under pressure. Plenty of his teammates could learn from him.
Still, it seemed at the break that a little bit of bedlam might be enough for Spurs to smash their way to three points. Harry Kane’s punt from the byline forced Ederson to palm the ball up in the air and Emerson Royal, who plays with the bafflement of a man suddenly woken from a slumber, flicked in a header on the rebound. All that was needed from here on out was a bit of resolve and organization in defense, something like the solidity that Tottenham showed in the second half of last season. Add to that a thrusting edge to the infrequent counters that might present themselves and Spurs would be well set.
Boos rang around the Etihad. The title defense seemed to be falling apart and it was the coach’s fault, another game of late where the coach seems to have decided to overcomplicate things just because. This approach had cost City the game until it won it for them.
There were of course adjustments beyond Guardiola poking his head into the Etihad dressing room and declaring to his players, “lads, it’s Tottenham.” After insisting on hammering through the middle, City began to hit the flanks, Riyad Mahrez only too willing to dance to the byline when Ivan Perisic invited him to stick on his right foot. Lloris came hurtling into no man’s land, flapping at fresh air before Julian Alvarez turned in.
The Frenchman has been one of the Premier League’s better goalkeepers over the last decade, not averse to a howler but capable of performances of outstanding belligerence when the mood strikes him. In his autumn years, the Spurs captain might have found some level of consistency, on a frequent basis he is actively harming the cause with poor shot-stopping. Lloris was in no man’s land when Mahrez nudged a header across goal for Haaland to turn in, a deflection off Ben Davies certainly made the Algerian’s shot harder to deal with for City’s winner but when these errors are not being set against spectacular saves elsewhere sympathy will be in short supply from irate Tottenham fans.
They are seeing what is left of their great team of the last decade rapidly age out of its prime. Harry Kane still threatens but his strike partner Son is a shadow of his former self. Now when the chances come for him to counter his touches are heavy, the burst of pace nowhere to be seen when Jack Grealish hurtled back to whip the ball off his feet.
Most alarmingly of all, a player who was all instinct seems a prisoner of his thoughts. Son’s every action seems to require a level of consideration that he did not need when he was racing to the Golden Boot. He needs the extra touch that the Premier League affords to no one. A player with his individual achievements in a Tottenham shirt can feel he has earned the right to try to play himself back into form but Conte must surely see that his cause is being hampered by Son’s presence in the side.
Then again, Spurs do not have a manager who they appointed to make hard decisions about the long-term viability of their great men. Conte was appointed to eke out what was left in this squad and his every press conference makes clear his distaste for a rebuild job. But when your captain and half of your transformative front line seem to be on the decline then it is time to freshen things up.