Straight
Like a defibrillator applied at the crucial moment, Riyad Mahrez gave Manchester City the pulse back. The winger reinvigorated his side as his team-mates marched in the dark towards a defeat that would have buried them eight points behind Arsenal and with one more game. They lost 2-0 to Tottenham at their stadium and the Premier slipped away from them in a climate that seemed to signal the end of an era until Mahrez, having done nothing of relevance, decided the time had come to act.
4
Ederson Moraes, Aké, Manuel Akanji, Rico Lewis, John Stones, Rodrigo, Gündogan (Bernardo Silva, min. 80), Julián Álvarez, Mahrez, Grealish and Erling Braut Haaland (Rúben Dias, min. 90)
2
Lloris, Cristian Romero, Eric Dier, Ben Davies (Clement Lenglet, min 78), Rodrigo Bentancur (Yves Bissouma, min 74), Emerson (Richarlison, min 78), Perisic (Ryan Sessegnon, min 68), Hojbjerg , Dejan Kulusevski, Kane and Heung-Min Son
Gates 0-1 min 44: They leave Kulusevski. 0-2 mins. 46: Emerson. 1-2 mins. 51: Julian Alvarez. 2-2 mins. 53: Erling Bride Haaland. 3-2 mins. 63: Mahrez. 4-2 mins. 89: Mahrez.
referee Simon Hopper
Yellow cards Mahrez (min. 20), Cristian Romero (min. 23) and Hojbjerg (min. 31)
“I don’t recognize my team,” said Pep Guardiola, who struggled after the game not to be carried away by the fleeting euphoria of victory. In the analysis of the city trainer, the final 4:2 weighed less than the 0:2 run, so he went to rest. “We lost the passion and the desire to run,” he explained on Sky; “We lost heart. And the same goes for our fans. They participated silently for 45 minutes. i want her back Our opponent Arsenal is on fire. They haven’t won the prime minister in two decades and they want him now. That’s the reality. Everything is very comfortable for us here, but the competitors will not wait for us.”
Winter had clouded City. The team, who have been defeated by Southampton in the League Cup and United in the league for the past few days, showed signs of numbness as they hosted Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium this Thursday. With Arsenal fleeing, the dilemma pointed to irreversible consequences. A loss would carry so many checkers on the players’ backs that the comeback would seem like a chimera. The urgency was palpable and the game stalled. Walker’s disabilities, Dias’ physical difficulties, De Bruyne’s laziness and a general sense of exhaustion split the team in half and isolated Haaland in increasingly distant positions.
Only Rodri and Bernardo Silva increased the level during the blackout. But for unknown reasons, Guardiola decided to keep the Portuguese on the bench. Silva was joined by Foden, De Bruyne and Cancelo, all regulars, all substitutes against Tottenham in what the Catalan coach described as a big shock day. Guardiola took unusual risks. scheme changed. references removed. He placed the unruly Rico Lewis on the right flank with roles as Rodris’ assistant, placing Gundogan as a hitch, Julián Álvarez in midfield, Grealish and Mahrez at the ends and Haaland up front, to his own.
Guardiola ordered them to move, go in support like possessed, go deep, remove opposition marks, help in midfield and return like bullets to face Lloris. Guardiola sent things that anyone could do. The question was: how often? during how much time? For a while, attacking overpopulation didn’t affect the ranking of the Manchester squad. However, as the first part progressed, Mahrez and Grealish got carried away by their thirst for adventure and stopped completing the maintenance tasks. City lost control of the ball. The spaces narrowed. Antonio Conte sent on Tottenham to put pressure on the man, Kane lunged for Ederson and centre-backs Romero and Davies chased close to the opposition’s box. Every rebound, every rejection put the defense at the edge of the abyss in a one-on-one. Kane’s passes revealed huge empty areas for his teammates. Heung-min Son had the first chance headfirst. It was a premonition.
Tottenham gained confidence under full pressure, found their way and eventually scored the opening goal in the 44th minute: Ederson charged at Rodri, Bentancur pressed him, the midfielder lost the ball and Kulusevski sent it into the net. The blow left City confused. Two minutes later, Kane outwitted Stones on a long counterattack, his shot deflected off Ederson and the rebound followed by Emerson Royal. Tottenham went into the break with the 0-2 under their arm and sent City into purgatory. If he loses the game and Arsenal beat United next Sunday, the lead would drop to 11 points. Too many for a team oscillating between resistance and depression.
Julián Álvarez, Light in Chaos
Something extraordinary had to happen to City. He needed a hero’s approval. Something like a metamorphosis. The fans found out five minutes after the restart. Mahrez, the unstable, the forgiving, the disappearing, who so often pretends that everything revolves around him because he is unable to think of others, he sewed the ball to his right foot, to the left, to the right and on the left he left Perisic and his center caused chaos. In the chaos, Julián Álvarez scored to make it 2-1 and increased the kilowatts to megawatts. Sparked by Guardiola’s speech, by agony, by his own dribbling or whatever, Mahrez went into ecstasy. With the participation of Rodri, the apex of all moves, he assisted Haaland and two minutes after the 1-2 it was 2-2.
The crowd in the stands was delirious as Rodri changed orientation to the right. Mahrez’s control was so fiendish that he was two meters away from Perisic, who bit him from half a meter. The Croatian fell for the ruse and the Frenchman went lonely towards the near post as if he could smell the fear on goalkeeper Hugo Lloris’ skin. His shot over Davies’ cross slipped into the near post and the Etihad erupted in a din: City had come back. Not out of calculation and harmony, as is so often the case, but out of anger, courage, and the instinct to survive. As Tottenham fell apart, Mahrez capitalized on a defensive error to steal in the 90th minute, scoring to end the game and put City back in contention for the championship.
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