Manchester City – Tottenham Hotspur: Fluent City Crowned EFL Cup Champs in Prolonged Execution (1-0)

For eighty minutes, Manchester City had brutalized and controlled Tottenham Hotspur, both on and off the ball. The winning goal may not have been as pretty as some of their earlier attacks, but a return to flexibility and fluency comes at a great time for Pep Guardiola’s men, who can add more than the EFL Cup to their collection.
Tactical analysis and match report by Joel Parker. 

If there ever was a week to sack your manager without huge media attention coming your way it was last week. In a flurry of super league resentment, high profile resignations and fans overthrowing, Spurs pulled the plug on José Mourinho.

The man to replace him has already brought a much-needed uplift for the Tottenham faithful. Ryan Mason became the youngest ever Premier League manager when they beat Southampton in mid-week to stay in the race for European tickets. Now Mason aims to fulfil his promise of a more aggressive Tottenham, as well as attempt to lead his boyhood club to its first silverware since 2008.

For Manchester City, cup finals have become a regular occurrence. The Pep machine has shown signs of potential falter in recent weeks, with a loss to Leeds United and Chelsea in the FA Cup. This has come at a time where Man City have looked more rigid than flexible, but still maintain the stacked attack that can produce at any given second during a match.  

Six changes were made from City’s 2-1 victory over . . .

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Joel Parker (24) is an Everton fan. Whenever he’s not watching his beloved Everton, Joel spends his time analyzing all sorts of football. Chief editor and Founder of Toffee Analysis. [ View all posts ]

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