Pep Guardiola was already on his way to the stadium exit when he decided to make a U-turn. The Manchester City manager ran back to the sidelines. And not because the stadium announcer had asked spectators to remain in their seats to honor Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur’s new record scorer with 267 goals – but to ensure that no City player got into the heated spirit after the league defeat duel to a provocation.
Guardiola himself seemed to run the greatest risk of losing his composure: During the match, he was loudly upset about the referee and complained about the injury time, which he felt was too short. But that shouldn’t have been the reason for City’s third away bankruptcy in a row. At the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Guardiola and his team have failed to score points or score in five attempts. The dreary record: 0:1, 0:2, 0:2, 0:1 and now 0:1 again.
Behind the series of results there is always a similar approach by the Londoners, to which Guardiola has not yet found an answer. Tottenham have had coaches known for neutralizing opponent quality in Mauricio Pochettino, José Mourinho, Nuno Espírito Santo and now Antonio Conte (who had to watch the game from home due to a gallbladder operation). The robust defense once again affected City, as did the sharp pressing and fast counterattacks. Kane’s winning goal in the 15th minute came after City lost the ball in his own penalty area.
In the first leg, which took place two and a half weeks ago due to the schedule, City had beaten Tottenham 4-2 at home after being 2-0 down, but Guardiola had already lost it. Presumably the previous quarter-finals in the League Cup and the derby defeat against Manchester United had an after-effect, in any case the coach practiced fundamental criticism of the whole club (including the fans) in a rant full of style blossoms.
In particular, he denounced the attitude of his players. The “fire” is missing, nothing comes “from the heart”, everyone is too “comfortable”, his conclusion: a happy flower team (“a happy flowers team”). However, he, Guardiola, does not want to be a “lucky flower”, but wants to intercept Arsenal as leaders in the Premier League. To conclude his remarks, Guardiola called for a reaction from everyone.
He himself had already made a kind of start: even before the first of the two league duels with Tottenham, he did without many regulars in the starting XI, including João Cancelo and Kevin De Bruyne. Above all, the absence of De Bruyne was irritating, as the Belgian had played 90 minutes in each of the previous nine league games. Shortly thereafter, Guardiola let full-back Cancelo, who had fallen out of favor within a short time, move to Bayern Munich. On Sunday, when Tottenham met again, De Bruyne was not on the pitch from the start – and captain Ilkay Gündogan also had to watch for a while.
Erling Haaland as “the invisible man”
The measures immediately had an impact on the game – just not in the way Guardiola had thought. His risky 3-2-5 formation in possession, intended to strengthen the offensive against the deep defending Tottenham, suited the Spurs more. Tottenham played off their physical superiority. And City’s goalkeeper Erling Haaland had no shot on goal and no ball contact in the opponent’s penalty area. “The Invisible Man,” was the headline Times.
Despite the Norwegian’s remarkable goal tally (25 goals in 20 league games), it is striking that he failed to score in four league defeats this season. When he can’t use his momentum against hard-to-break defensive blocks, he struggles. Unlike Kane, who can sometimes fall back to initiate offensive scenes himself.
Difficult stand against Tottenham: Cristian Romero grabs Erling Haaland.
(Photo: Adrian Dennis/AFP)
Meanwhile, Guardiola cited the journey (!) as the reason for the poor performance: The route from Manchester to London (which can be done by train in a good two hours) was like a “trip to northern Europe”, he thought: it would have been more than four hours needed his team to get to the hotel. A transparent diversionary maneuver.
On Monday, however, there was a different kind of distraction: after four years of research, the Premier League announced that it was accusing Manchester City of more than 100 rule violations between 2009 and 2018 and was therefore forwarding the case to an “independent commission”. The league accuses City of failing to provide financial information that “represents a true and fair view of the club’s financial position” – particularly in relation to revenue, operating costs and contractors. In July 2020, the club faced similar allegations. In the last instance, before the International Court of Arbitration for Sports, the appeal against a two-year European Cup suspension was granted under questionable circumstances. The European football association Uefa had pronounced the penalty due to “serious violations”.
Manchester City was “surprised” by the Premier League’s findings in a statement – especially “in view of the large amount of detailed material” that the club believed had been made available. We therefore welcome “the independent review of the matter”. As before, City was pretty sure of victory: The club “look forward” to clarifying the matter “once and for all”. If the allegations lead to a conviction, City face severe sanctions: from fines and point deductions to the withdrawal of championships or a league exclusion.
A verdict is not expected in the foreseeable future. But one thing is already certain: Manchester City are threatened with uncomfortable times, sportingly and legally.