Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Manchester City: 5 Talking Points, Premier League 2018-19

#3 Wembley pitch makes it hard for both teams

Tottenham's failure to get their stadium ready in time meant the team's had to play on a severely damaged pitch

Spurs intended to make this match against City their opening game in their new stadium, and the NFL match at Wembley yesterday would have therefore had no bearing on a Premier League fixture. However, the shambolic situation with Tottenham’s new stadium meant their match tonight had to be played on a horrendous Wembley pitch, and it arguably turned out to be the vital factor that cost them points against the champions.

The NFL slogan remained clear in the centre circle, and yard markings from the NFL match were still very visible all over the pitch. It was a terrible situation for both sides and led to a rather low-quality outing, with both sides struggling to create clear-cut chances.

City had a few chances, with David Silva missing a golden opportunity as he opted to pass to Sterling after Bernardo Silva cut it back to him, but overall there were very few chances for both sides as they struggled to deal with the bouncing and bobbling on the Wembley pitch.

As mentioned though, it had the biggest effect on Spurs, with Lamela missing a golden opportunity to level it against City with just 10 minutes to play. Mahrez was caught with the ball in his half and Dele Alli fed the ball through to Lamela, who looked certain to level the score, but the ball just bobbled up and he could only knock his effort over the bar.