Opinion: Five things we learned from Tottenham’s 4-2 defeat to Man City

Tottenham Hotspur fell to yet another defeat in a big game last night as they threw a 2-0 lead away at the Etihad to lose 4-2 to Man City.

Let’s take a look at the five things we learned:

The shake of the head from Harry Kane – As Riyad Mahrez smashed home Man City’s third to complete the turnaround from 2-0 down, the camera cut to Harry Kane near the halfway line shaking his head. Oh, how frustrating it must be for Harry and some of the attacking players to consistently do their job at one end of the pitch, only for it all to unravel at the other end. I’m sure it was just an in-the-moment reaction, but Spurs need to be really careful in making sure that the head shake doesn’t happen away from the pitch too when Kane decides his future this summer.

Bentancur is back – I never thought we would see a player anything like Mousa Dembele at Spurs again, and although Bentancur is built very differently, he is the closest I have seen. The way he holds onto the ball as long as he wants without ever looking like he’s going to lose it. The way he effortlessly progresses the play with his passing and dribbling, as if it’s the easiest thing in the world. And he is arguably the best presser on the team these days too. What a player Spurs have there.

Son is in trouble – For the first time in a long time, Antonio Conte has four senior Tottenham attackers to choose from now that Richarlison is back. Considering he has a lot of experience playing off the left from his Everton days, the decision may soon come as to whether Spurs should be starting with a trio of Richy, Kane, and Kulusevski. We all love Sonny, but maybe he needs a sink-or-swim moment, or some heroics off the bench to get him firing again.

The Tottenham defence – I’m at the point where I’m really happy with the Tottenham attack. If Lucas Moura leaves in the summer, it would be good to get one more attacker in to cement that depth. Kane, Kulusevski, Son, Richarlison and one more would be incredible levels of depth, and there is a reason we are able to go 2-0 up against the likes of Man City. But the defence is woeful. It loses us games we should win nine times out of ten. Yes, they sold Coutinho to do it, but it reminds me of when Liverpool highlighted their weak areas and splashed the cash on Van Dijk and Alisson to completely transform the team into title challengers. Tottenham need to do the same or risk going completely stale.

The Conte game plan – Yes, Spurs lost 4-2, but there were elements of the game plan that I loved yesterday. For the first time in a big game all season, Spurs took it to Man City in the first half. They pressed really high and were brave in and out of possession. They recognised City were in bad form and decided to make them play, rather than sitting back and allowing them all the uncontested possession in the world. And it worked! Errors led to two Spurs goals. Once again, it was just a lack of defensive quality that prevented the Lilywhites from seeing out the game.

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