EPL 2017/18: Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur - 5 Talking Points

Ben B
Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League

#4 Man City overcome key absences

Swansea City v Manchester City - Premier League
Manchester City coped without David Silva

City came into this match without John Stones or David Silva who have been instrumental in their success. Stones offers the ability to break the opposition lines from deep positions with his passing. This enables the team to play through the press or break down deep defences depending on how the opposition set up.

None of the other centre-backs offers the same kind of vision, but Nicolás Otamendi acted as a capable backup in this match. There were multiple times when he found Sergio Aguero or an attacking midfielder with a ground pass from deep.

The main difference for this match was the absence of Silva because Stones had been absent for a few matches prior to this so City have been able to adjust for that. ?lkay Gündo?an came in for the creative Spaniard. This didn't affect their build-up play and actually allowed them to be stronger in the midfield area because of Gündo?an's defensive positional intelligence and tackling ability. De Bruyne took on more creative responsibility in his absence and thrived at it as he unpicked Tottenham's defence multiple times.

Quick Links

Edited by Tanya Rudra
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications