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1. Does Pochettino have Guardiola's number?
When Mauricio Pochettino was director of Espanyol and Pep Guardiola was in Barcelona, he was known as "anti-Guardiola" in the local press for his ability to find Barca's weakness. There was something about his aggressive football pressing, taking the fight to their rich opponents rather than sitting, which brought famous results.
This month, we feel that he has found this talent. Yes, City scored more goals in those three games and extended their winning streak against the Spurs in Premier League. But the Spurs have recorded a historic two-legged triumph over City, one built on domestic aggression and mistakes made. The financial gap between the teams was equalized and the Spurs came first. Nothing will hurt Guardiola more than that.
We will tell you what is true. You can form your own view.
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2. Guardiola's obsession with the Champions League is very real
Pep Guardiola is obsessed with the Champions League. Everyone knows and these two games were perfectly clear, especially as he cashed around the technical area on Wednesday night, dancing for joy when Raheem Sterling scored the apparent winner, sinking to the floor after being rejected. But it also seems that criticism of Guardiola's record in the Champions League has struck him.
Before the second stage, Guardiola continued to insist that he was a "failure" in this competition, as he was trying to appropriate the criticism himself. Even on Saturday afternoon, after defeating the Spurs, Guardiola again reminded that he had not won the contest since 2011. "It's a big failure of my career, I have to # 39; accept. "
Mauricio Pochettino, now in the semifinal, a step that Guardiola has not reached since 2016, seemed more relaxed.
1/22 Ederson – 8
Made three big stops to prevent Son and Eriksen from being behind on the counter.
AFP / Getty Images
2/22 Kyle Walker – 7 out of 10
REUTERS
3/22 John Stones – 5 out of 10
He watched ropey early after not playing for a while, but worked hard against Son and Moura.
Pennsylvania
4/22 Aymeric Laporte – 6 out of 10
A situation similar to Stones. Son and Moura got the better of him in the early stages, but he was able to learn from this situation and create crucial tackles to stop Son from trying his luck on the counter.
Getty Images
5/22 Oleksandr Zinchenko – 6 out of 10
Did a decent job in an awkward position for City. He was asked to move forward but he did so with limited success.
AFP / Getty Images
6/22 Kevin De Bruyne – 6
Well started the game, created some chances but had some bad centers. Wounded near the end of the first period, he had no lasting impact.
EPA
7/22 Ilkay Gundogan – 6 out of 10
Fluid, clean and in control when Man City moves forward. He did his job to set up the wide men to put the balls in the box.
Action Images via Reuters
8/22 Phil Foden – 7 out of 10
He won many key positions and was rewarded with his first Premier League goal. He made some mistakes, but you can attribute that to his age.
Getty Images
9/22 Bernardo Silva – 9 out of 10
Man City's key man today. He did not stop running the whole game and caused a ton of problems in the right wing. His ball in Aguero for the goal was sublime.
Pennsylvania
10/22 Sergio Aguero – 7 out of 10
Was it realized to find Foden at the last post to finish a well – worked goal for Man City and force Vertonghen and Alderweireld to work hard at the back.
REUTERS
11/22 Raheem Sterling – 7 out of 10
With Foyth, he was too fast for the young man from Tottenham, but he missed a good opportunity to score a second for City in the second half.
AFP / Getty Images
12/22 Paulo Gazzaniga – 7 out of 10
Found his feet as the game progressed and made a good reactionary rescue to deny Sterling in the second half.
REUTERS
13/22 Juan Foyth – 6 out of 10
Fight against Sterling's pace, but put up one or two good games to keep Sterling from going back.
REUTERS
14/22 Davinson Sanchez – 6 out of 10
He embarked on all tackles and challenges, making Aguero's task difficult.
AFP / Getty Images
15/22 Toby Alderweireld – 5 out of 10
He had to work hard in the finals of the first half to withstand the Man City attack, but was in fault to allow Foden to score.
AFP / Getty Images
16/22 Jan Vertonghen – 6 out of 10
Had a fighting game, but a decent one. It was not exceptional but went well.
REUTERS
17/22 Ben Davies – 6 out of 10
Was invited to play as a winger and to defend against Bernardo Silva and he is certainly much worse in this competition.
AFP / Getty Images
18/22 Christian Eriksen – 7 out of 10
Played some nice balls in Son and Moura to split the defense. All that was missing was a finish.
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19/22 Eric Dier – 5 out of 10
He had a very calm comeback in his first match due to an injury. Pretty forgettable.
AFP / Getty Images
20/22 Dele Alli – 6 out of 10
A bit played, but very little in terms of creating chances for Tottenham.
AFP / Getty Images
21/22 Heung-Min So – 7 of 10
Had the best chance of the game for the Spurs but was not as clinical as it could have been.
Getty Images
22/22 Lucas Moura – 7 out of 10
The Spurs are set up for him and his to target the counterattack. He had two good chances but could not beat Ederson.
AFP / Getty Images
1/22 Ederson – 8
Made three big stops to prevent Son and Eriksen from being behind on the counter.
AFP / Getty Images
2/22 Kyle Walker – 7 out of 10
REUTERS
3/22 John Stones – 5 out of 10
He watched ropey early after not playing for a while, but worked hard against Son and Moura.
Pennsylvania
4/22 Aymeric Laporte – 6 out of 10
A situation similar to Stones. Son and Moura got the better of him in the early stages, but he was able to learn from this situation and create crucial tackles to stop Son from trying his luck on the counter.
Getty Images
5/22 Oleksandr Zinchenko – 6 out of 10
Did a decent job in an awkward position for City. He was asked to move forward but he did so with limited success.
AFP / Getty Images
6/22 Kevin De Bruyne – 6
Well started the game, created some chances but had some bad centers. Wounded near the end of the first period, he had no lasting impact.
EPA
7/22 Ilkay Gundogan – 6 out of 10
Fluid, clean and in control when Man City moves forward. He did his job to set up the wide men to put the balls in the box.
Action Images via Reuters
8/22 Phil Foden – 7 out of 10
He won many key positions and was rewarded with his first Premier League goal. He made some mistakes, but you can attribute that to his age.
Getty Images
9/22 Bernardo Silva – 9 out of 10
Man City's key man today. He did not stop running the whole game and caused a ton of problems in the right wing. His ball in Aguero for the goal was sublime.
Pennsylvania
10/22 Sergio Aguero – 7 out of 10
Was it realized to find Foden at the last post to finish a well – worked goal for Man City and force Vertonghen and Alderweireld to work hard at the back.
REUTERS
11/22 Raheem Sterling – 7 out of 10
With Foyth, he was too fast for the young man from Tottenham, but he missed a good opportunity to score a second for City in the second half.
AFP / Getty Images
12/22 Paulo Gazzaniga – 7 out of 10
Found his feet as the game progressed and made a good reactionary rescue to deny Sterling in the second half.
REUTERS
13/22 Juan Foyth – 6 out of 10
Fight against Sterling's pace, but put up one or two good games to keep Sterling from going back.
REUTERS
14/22 Davinson Sanchez – 6 out of 10
He embarked on all tackles and challenges, making Aguero's task difficult.
AFP / Getty Images
15/22 Toby Alderweireld – 5 out of 10
He had to work hard in the finals of the first half to withstand the Man City attack, but was in fault to allow Foden to score.
AFP / Getty Images
16/22 Jan Vertonghen – 6 out of 10
Had a fighting game, but a decent one. It was not exceptional but went well.
REUTERS
17/22 Ben Davies – 6 out of 10
Was invited to play as a winger and to defend against Bernardo Silva and he is certainly much worse in this competition.
AFP / Getty Images
18/22 Christian Eriksen – 7 out of 10
Played some nice balls in Son and Moura to split the defense. All that was missing was a finish.
Pennsylvania
19/22 Eric Dier – 5 out of 10
He had a very calm comeback in his first match due to an injury. Pretty forgettable.
AFP / Getty Images
20/22 Dele Alli – 6 out of 10
A bit played, but very little in terms of creating chances for Tottenham.
AFP / Getty Images
21/22 Heung-Min So – 7 of 10
Had the best chance of the game for the Spurs but was not as clinical as it could have been.
Getty Images
22/22 Lucas Moura – 7 out of 10
The Spurs are set up for him and his to target the counterattack. He had two good chances but could not beat Ederson.
AFP / Getty Images
3. Her son facilitated the absence of Kane
Hearts sank at White Hart Lane when Harry Kane stopped in the first episode with another ankle injury. But it was difficult to see Son Heung-min play the next games and still have the feeling that the Spurs were desperately missing from the English captain. Because for a few months, Son is the best Spurs player and he is not even close.
He scored three of his four goals in the first leg of the Champions League, cutting City by ribbons with his elusive movement. There are not many better strikers than his at the moment, but few better finishers just off the surface. His second Wednesday was Son's final finale.
Saturday, his movement was also good, but his finish was not good, and he went home for once. But City was terrified of him all afternoon.
4. Can this improved mistrust be maintained?
There is a theory among Spurs that the absence of Harry Kane sometimes encourages his teammates to raise their level. Because the players are so eager to prove that they can win without him. And conversely, when he returns to the team, they give up their game, feeling unconsciously that their savior is back.
That's how it felt to watch these games, as Son led a late climb to the first leg and all the Spurs players played out of their skis in the second leg. It was as if circumstances, without Kane and entering this game, making them even closer in favorites, gave the Spurs a performance beyond their expectations. But can they support it?
Kane is injured on the ankle against Manchester United (Getty)
5. Defenders of the Spurs set the standard
Few players represent this level of superhuman performance as Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen. This should not perhaps be a surprise now, but it seems that this season they have set new standards in leadership, consistency and application, especially in recent weeks. In the first match, they kept a clean record against City – the only team to do this season after Chelsea (twice) and Liverpool.
In the second match, they scored four goals, but they still had to stop City from playing when they threatened to kill the match in the second half. On Saturday, they led another rear guard, keeping the Spurs in the match, surviving the City bursts, even though they still lost. Aymeric Laporte had an outstanding season, but Vertonghen and Alderweireld have set the standard in the Premier League for years.
6. Gundogan proves a responsibility as much as it is a luxury
Ilkay Gundogan is a brilliant footballer, but he could be the best luxury player in the league. Few people can compete with him in terms of technical quality, vision and ability to dictate the pace of the game. But there is a problem: he can not defend himself.
Guardiola is still desperate to get him into the team but his inability to stop opposition counterattacks means that he can only be risky as midfielder sitting in matches when City has the whole ball. The two goals of Son killed on Wednesday came from the meters in the center of the field, the type of break that does not occur when Fernandinho is on the field. Saturday followed the same pattern, the Spurs having sliced the city early. It was only when Fernandinho arrived that City locked the door.
This raises the question for Guardiola at Old Trafford: can he afford to choose his most consistent midfield?
Dynamism Guardiola rent Phil Foden like Man City beat Tottenham
7. The stock of Winks increases with its absence
There was only one game in this series when the Spurs had the advantage in midfield against City. And this was the first, when Harry Winks played. It gave the Spurs fluid mobility in the middle of the field, a constant buzz, as they invaded City from the beginning. And without this good start, who knows how this tie would have ended?
But it was particularly impressive because Winks was playing with an injury, a hip pain that has accumulated during this busy season. But after playing in the first match, Winks then missed the next two and the Spurs were overrun with that part of the pitch. They do not form the same team without him and, although Pochettino would like him back, Winks' pain needs to be monitored daily, as they hope he will recover.
8. How long can Sane stay with the supersub?
Leroy Sane is one of the most entertaining match winners in English football, but Guardiola does not trust him in the biggest matches. And this has never been so clear as in these three games.
Sane played at the last minute of the first game, six minutes from the second game, while City continued the tie, then 24 minutes from the match. But that's the way it has been used recently. In the last three months, he has played only eight of the last 21 games of City, the most recent against those of Swansea City, Cardiff City and Crystal Palace. Sane found himself, after a brilliant season last year, relegated to the rank of unreliable supersub against the best opponents. This does not seem to be a lasting role for a player of this quality.
9. VAR has changed football forever
Until this week, VAR had the impression of being a foreign invention that the English could afford to ignore for two years. Not anymore. By making three dramatic appearances in the two Champions League games, helping to decide the biggest draw between the British and the English since the 2008 Champions League final, VAR has become a key factor in football. And that changed the game forever.
The handball offered against Danny Rose in the first game set a new standard for handball decisions, effectively rewriting the law. Now all handball decisions are being appealed if they are not returned, as Toby Alderweireld and Kyle Walker found out on Saturday. The fact that City and Spurs fans were laughing Saturday with VAR songs shows how important our thinking is. But nothing was as revealing as Guardiola who blamed a journalist after Saturday's match "do not talk to me about referees". It is clear that Wednesday is still fighting.
10. The super series is a sign of the future of football
Series are the future of football. We all know that the pyramid of the game is tapered, that the biggest teams want more and more to play each other. And as clubs look for new formats to maximize these box office clashes, it seems inevitable that we would see more weeks like this.
Two big teams meet for three or five matches, with only short breaks between the two. Like an NBA Finale or a World Series, they will develop their own bows and subplots, and will attract much more media than the rich / less rich, attack / defense games that clutter our current programs. They could be played on the field of both teams or, more preferably, in neutral foreign places. If you want an image of the future, imagine that Manchester City plays Tottenham in Miami – forever.
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