Man City 4-2 Spurs (Kulusevski 44’, Royal 45+2’ | Alvarez 51’, Haaland 53’, Mahrez 63’ 90′)
ETIHAD – Unless this was part of a cunning plan to stop Arsenal winning the league, Antonio Conte will reflect on this latest venture from the sublime to the ridiculous as a catastrophic night for Tottenham’s Champions League aspirations – and a worrying one for his reign as a whole.
On the back of Spurs’ worst home north London derby result in eight years and with the top four slipping out of sight, it looked as if Rodrigo Bentancur’s return had made the difference. Alongside Dejan Kulusevski and Cristian Romero, Spurs look that bit closer to their best XI. That it still wasn’t enough to beat a member of the “Big Six”, even one who has the potential to completely tear up the script after half time, remains a huge concern.
City did their best impression of Tottenham, going 2-0 down, being booed off at the break, before suddenly reviving without tangibly changing anything.
The midfield was not overrun, at least in the manner it was against Arsenal, with Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg treading a fine line between disciplined and dangerous. Perhaps Conte has been unfairly maligned on that front, as he has been as badly affected by the World Cup as any other Premier League manager in terms of injuries and fatigue.
It is also nearly three weeks into January and Conte has not been given a single new signing – hence, it took just 14 minutes for the “Levy Out” chants to begin in the away end. Two goals in three minutes from Kulusevski and Emerson Royal silenced the dissenters – but when City pulled off the same trick immediately after half time, Spurs were back in despair.
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Premier League financial dominance can make clubs 'untouchable' as European rivals left behind19 January, 2023Worst of all, the third goal bore all the hallmarks of Arsenal’s opening goal on Sunday. This time it was Ivan Perisic beaten far too easily on the left, while Hugo Lloris was again beaten at the near post (though he did not bundle into his own net this time). Erling Haaland’s header for the second was too easy, and the first saw a mix-up between Emerson and Lloris while Julian Alvarez bundled in. A messy goal to concede, but nothing about Spurs feels clear-cut anymore. The fourth sealed it: from the sublime to the ridiculous, with Clement Lenglet chasing hopelessly after Mahrez and LLoris in no-man’s-land.
It is an inescapable truth for Daniel Levy, looking down from the stands, that the brightest sparks were last year’s January additions: Bentancur and Kulusevski. Defeats are more bearable when they contain lessons – Spurs didn’t really learn anything here that they didn’t already know. Elements of this squad need an overhaul, it contains moments of brilliance, but it feels incoherent. And when the chips are down, Conte either struggles to change it, or does not have the players to.
Had Haaland been more clinical in the first half, the few minutes of Spurs joy might never have materialised. All this, with Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva starting on the bench.
In that light, Conte cannot have enjoyed this, whatever platitudes he may offer about positives and how well his side exploited City’s weaknesses. His unhappy marriage with Tottenham may soon be over and with his contract up in the summer, there is no indication that he will sign a new deal – nor indeed that keeping him in charge next season would change all that much. It was always understood that January would dictate his long-term future and so far, nothing on or off the pitch is likely to have swayed his decision in favour of staying.
A ray of hope, then – picture the sight of Les Ferdinand scoring for Spurs against Manchester United on the final day in 1999, realising he might have just handed Arsenal the title. Spurs have been saved that ignominy for now, but they might as well not bother looking at the rest of the top four come May.
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