Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Manchester City
Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur were back on top of the Premier League on Saturday evening after an impressive 2-0 victory over old rival Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the English capital.
Goals from Heung Min Son and Giovanni Lo Celso gave Spurs the three points and a 4th straight league victory, with the possession stats (34-66%) and the shot count (4-22) leading many observers to declare the match a vintage Mourinho display in controlling the opposition and exploiting transitions.
“Big team, big hearts, big solidarity, a proper team, a team that I believe makes Tottenham fans proud,” Mourinho said after the match. “Players going to the limits of their energy, sacrifice for the team plan, coping well with let’s say a new pressure of ‘if you win the match, you go top of the league for 24 hours’.
“I’m very proud”
“There is a big spirit. I know the group is very strong and very united. I’m really, really proud. I’m very proud. They deserve big applause and lots of respect.
“We don’t have many chances, we had five - we scored two, another one was offside. That’s the way it has to be. You cannot expect to have 10 chances because they are very good with the ball, they keep the ball, they move the ball, they hide the ball from you, that’s the way they play, and if you try to play the way they do, they are better than you. So, to beat them, you have to play in a different way.
“I’m so pleased. After the game, everybody celebrated together and I’m really, really happy with what we’re building. I’m really proud of the guys.”
Friday marked a year to the day Mourinho was appointed Spurs boss, taking over from Mauricio Pochettino with the team in the bottom half of the table. Having started the current campaign with an opening day defeat to Everton, Mourinho’s side have since won six and drawn two of their subsequent eight matches, with the joint-best defensive record and second only to Chelsea for goals scored.
By Sean Gillen
