Champions League: Manchester City 4-3 Tottenham Hotspur (4-4 on aggregate) - 5 talking points

#4 Sissoko injury gives City control in midfield

Sissoko injury opened the door for City comeback

The most important component of Pep Guardiola’s philosophy is ball retention and swift transitions from back to front. In the reverse fixture, City lacked their fluidity as Fernandinho, their metronome at the back received special attention from Dele Alli. Alli marked him tightly and was disciplined throughout the match thus cutting out the supply line which also lacked De Bruyne’s dynamism in midfield.

Sissoko played a huge role too, with his box-to-box presence making tackles, pressing incessantly and offering tenacity in the middle of the park. He did the same in last night's game and helped screen the Spurs defence along with Victor Wanyama.

But his injury forced Pochettino to make a change who surprisingly bought on a centre-forward in Fernando Llorente for the defensive midfielder. Thus, this move saw City stamp their authority with Gundogan, De Bruyne, Bernado, and David Silva exercising control in midfield.

This coincided with a sustained period of possession where Spurs did not create few chances and Pep’s men looked likely to get on the scoresheet with every passing minute.