As I said to a mate of mine who was celebrating Arsenal's loss yesterday, their defeat would only mean something if we took advantage, & we failed miserably to do so.
I actually thought we were playing well until Rodri's suicide pass to Lewis. Today was always gonna be about Kane breaking records & so it proved.
Spurs did the same to us as ManUre did. They packed their defence & central midfield leaving us zero space, but their wingbacks also nullified our width, so we couldn't get around or behind them. On the few occasions we managed it, their penalty area was packed. We were just out-thought tactically.
At all times Haaland was surrounded by 3-4 players & because midfield space was at a premium, it left him isolated. We were relying on KDB playing long through balls in the hope Haaland latched onto one, but it wasn't to be. Surely this can't be our only tactic to score?
There was a time where Merlin would have thrived in those tight spaces. He would pull the opposition all over the place & thread blind passes through to Sterling, Aguero, Sané, Mahrez or onto an overlapping KDB. This is the creative spark we're seriously short of since Bernardo's mind seems to be elsewhere.
Failing at Spurs comes as no surprise, as they just seem to have the hex over us. I've been trying to put my finger on what's up with us this season & it seems there's a mentality & commitment issue within the squad.
We don't have a vocal, natural leader in the mode of Kompany any longer. Dias is the closest we have, but when his minutes are being managed we seemingly have no one else to step up as we did with David Silva/Fernandinho.
Grealish really wanted it today, but he too was crowded out & seemed isolated at times meaning he was faced with 3 players, or the option of a backward/sideways pass with Spurs defending en masse & ready to counter at speed.
Guardiola has his work cut out. After Cancelo's shock departure I thought today's performance would tell us a lot about the 2023 Manchester City. It seems our current issues run deep.
We've a HUGE summer ahead of us which again will tell us a great deal about where this current iteration of our squad is headed... It seems the days of KDB & Bernardo being able to raise their levels & pull us up by the bootstraps, & inspiring everyone else around them is over.
We need change & energy in our engine room. We need a dedicated LB & pace & trickery on the wings. We also need to make a quick decision with Philips. We needed to raise the midfield temperature & pace today & were unable to do so until the final 7 minutes when Spurs went down to 10.
I trust that the club know exactly what's wrong & what the solution is. This summer is gonna be fuckin massive!
