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Stopping the Manchester City behemoth might seem hopeless, like an insignificant fighter pilot looking for a small intrinsic flaw in a stunning Death Star.
But Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham must hope and use all the resources at their disposal. Or, as Hugo Lloris says, they must "feel the power" of their new stadium.
It can be a vain hope. It's hard to deny that the best players usually win games and City has more than anyone else. But the Spurs have an amazing new home with a very good team.
Hugo Lloris said Tottenham must "feel the power" in his new stadium
In addition, they have 62,000 high euphoria fans back home. And they have this extraordinary South Stand, a sound block with a capacity of 17,500 abilities at one end.
This is the remarkable architectural statement of the stadium and, judging on Wednesday, an acoustic wonder. "At times in the game, we feel power," Spurs captain Lloris said after the opening match against Crystal Palace.
"I think it can be a help for the team. We will need the crowd every game. Of course, it's a great moment for the club. To be part of a quarterfinal of the Champions League is an excellent opportunity.
Yet, during the week in which it was revealed that their payroll was half that of City last season, they knew that they could not match the depth of their team or their financial strength. . "We are trying to create a great future but we can not build it in one or two seasons," Lloris said. We need time.
Harry Winks believes the Tottenham stadium can be daunting for the opponent
Tottenham players think the atmosphere of their new pitch can give them an edge
But the stadium is a start and Harry Winks tackled the same topic as Lloris on Wednesday. "It was amazing, the atmosphere was electric," he said. "From what I understand, this can be a discouraging place for the opposition. If they [the fans] can recreate that [against City] I hope it can be a good night.
& # 39; Of course, fans play a huge role in creating this atmosphere and help us. But the most important thing is how we play. If we play as we did we did [against Palace] and press like us, it can be a difficult night for them.
Winks is right. A wonderful stadium and a cacophony of noise will be useless if the Spurs do not play well. And even though there is a unique atmosphere, in the era of badysis, it may seem naive to think that such a phenomenon could make the difference with seasoned professionals like Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne.
Except that City imploded twice last season in the face of the intensity of the Anfield effect. Spurs, the shameful ambush that the coach of the team of the city met in Liverpool will not happen again.
But aside from that, the atmosphere in the stadium for the Premier League and Champions League matches was legitimately pbadionate. And that seemed to have an effect.
"The goal is to make city life more difficult," said Lloris. & # 39; Be ready to compete from the first minute. We know that we are going to have the help of the crowd so we just have to take advantage of the moment. When I say enjoy, I want to enjoy running, defend, attack, enjoy all that can be decisive.
There is no doubt that the Spurs can imitate the team of Jurgen Klopp in terms of pressing. This, of course, is more important than the noise of the crowd and yet both have a symbiotic relationship: an aggressive press creates an intense atmosphere.
In the Premier League at Anfield last year, City conceded three in nine minutes, leaving Liverpool out of sight, although a late return saw the score reduced to 4-3.
Kevin De Bruyne is one of the many stars that Tottenham must try to stop
Then, in the famous quarterfinal of the Champions League, still in Anfield, City lost the draw by conceding three goals in 19 minutes in the first period.
And oddly enough, these results were not huge consequences for Guardiola in Europe. When he was at Bayern, in the 2014 semifinal against Real Madrid, his team conceded three goals in 18 minutes in the first half at home, ending the tie.
Again with Bayern in the semifinals 2015 and against his former Barcelona club, his team has conceded three in the last 13 minutes at Nou Camp. They lost 3 to 5 on both draws, but were 5-1 overall less at home and never in a draw.
Guardiola himself admitted that his philosophy was fragile. "I've thought about it a few times," he says.
"I lost a lot of Champions League matches in the space of 10 to 15 minutes. It may be my fault. I have to think about it. He said that after City conceded three goals in 16 minutes against Manchester United to skew 3-2 to Etihad last season.
Guardiola plays an incredibly offensive style, engaging the players forward and pressing very high, so that the risk-reward scenario is strengthened to the extreme. When it clicks, it works perfectly.
Pep Guardiola's teams play offensive style that can sometimes expose them
When things go wrong, his camp apparently has no defensive shells in which to retreat. Maybe once confidence has begun and we are still expecting them to play the same audacious way, the mistakes are exacerbated and a failure becomes a crisis.
Naturally, this tends to happen against the European peaks. And there are enough parallels between the Spurs' and Liverpool's styles to suggest that they might try something similar. It's as if Guardiola's teams are so used to dominating that they forget how to handle their attacks.
Disturbing for the Spurs, Guardiola seems to have answered the question. Against Liverpool in January, one could say that he did what he said he would never do and changed his style.
Liverpool had 50.4% possession at Etihad during a 2-1 defeat. Throughout his coaching career, Guardiola had lost no ball possession stats.
In fact, there was only one occasion this season when they appeared to be vulnerable in the same way, when Crystal Palace scored in the 33rd minute and 35th minutes at the Etihad in December, before adding a third after 51 minutes at half-time in their 3-2 win.
Still, although it seems unlikely that anyone other than Barcelona is able to disrupt City this season, the Spurs and their 62,000 supporters should at least believe that they are not a desperate cause.
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