Robbed Blind, City 2 vs 2 Spurs

“ 'I'm so happy with the performance. I feel sorry for the players. When we play s***, I will say we played s***'”, Pep Guardiola – 21/01/2017.

Goals: Sane (49'), De Bruyne (54'); Alli (58'), Son (77')

Line Up (4-1-4-1) (match ratings in brackets); 

Bravo (5.5)
Zabaleta (7)
Kolorov (6)
Otamendi (5.5)
Clichy (5.5)
Toure (8)
Sterling (7), (de Jesus 82' (7))
Silva (7)
Sane (7.5)
Aguero 45' (6.5)
De Bruyne (7.5)

Referee; Andre Marriner (4)

Stats;Possession, 55%/45%; Shots, 17(7)/6(2); Corners, 5/4; Fouls, 10/7

I'm pretty much sick of writing about the appalling state of  refereeing in the Premier League, particularly when it comes to officiating City games. This was a game where on 76 minutes with City bossing the game, Raheem Sterling apparently made the "mistake" of staying on his feet when blatantly pushed in the back by Kyle Walker. On any other day for any other team that would have been not just a nailed on penalty, but a dismissal for Walker as he clearly denied a goal scoring opportunity, therefore nullifying any "double jeopardy" excuse to stay on the pitch. The referee did nothing. Allowing Spurs to waltz up the other end of the pitch an equalize. As time continues to march on with no changes to the refereeing qualifications or review system, and no sign of technology being considered to bail the FA out of the hole they have dug through no openness, governance or accountability for poor standards, refereeing just gets worse and worse, and the bias to which bad decisions go against Manchester City would now make Donald Trumps spin doctors blush. 

So with that all too familiar rant out of the way, what of the performance? 

Sensational for much of the game, City out thought and out fought the Premier League's top form team. Lots of players deserve praise for the movement and effort both on and off the ball, the first twenty minutes flew by, with Spurs pulled completely out of shape by the front five; eventually forcing a change in formation from Pochitino. Yaya, playing a sole holding role was pivotal, breaking up play and distributing the ball efficiently and accurately. DeBruyne bossed the game going forward. The obvious missing ingredient was a goal, and although Spurs do have the best defensive record for two seasons now, City should have gone in at half time at least one goal to the good. 

It was Sane that changed the game. Playing with two wingers has seen the best of City this Season, and his full return from injury was a breath of fresh air. On 49' he collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area from De Bruyne, and with Lloris having put himself in no mans land and unable to use his hands, Sane just strolled it in, 1-0. 

Fine minutes later De Bruyne made it two. A quick break down the right this time with Sterling putting the ball in with a good cross and De Bruyne latching onto Lloris's spilled ball, 2-0. 

That should have been that, Spurs had not had a shot on target, but of course that is City's Achilles heal. The first attempt on target a header from Alli wasn't dealt with and it was 2-1. The cheat of an equalizer was more disappointing defence  wise, but neither goal were particularly Bravo's fault. However the keeper now finds himself on the end of a statistic which means he's let in first attempts on target in 8 of his last 13 games. 

Luckily the refereeing brain fart, and Spurs' equalizer was not the end of the story. Fans did get to see a cameo from great Brazilian hopeful Gabriel Jesus. With his second touch he had the ball in the net latching onto a another DeBruyne cross, although the goal was immediately correctly given offside. It will be very interesting to see how Pep handles the introduction of the youngster over the coming weeks. The front five played well, but with Aguero and Sterling unable to buy a goal at the moment you would think regular game time is not far away. #CTID. 

@l0ngwayfr0mh0me