The sound of the referee’s whistle indicates the end of the first forty-five minutes in Manchester, and it’s time for the Spurs vs Man City player ratings, with Spurs leading 2-0 at the break thanks to a Maddison double.
The two sides are now in their respective dressing rooms, preparing to go toe-to-toe again in the second period. A win is imperative for both sides, as City look to end a run of four defeats, while Spurs are desperate to bounce back from a loss to Ipswich and regulate their position in the table.
Postecoglou is without both centre-backs Romero and van de Ven for the second visit to the Etihad in a row. Last time out in this fixture, Spurs held City to a 3-3 draw in what was an enthralling contest, with a late Kulusevski header salvaging a point. It was a loss away at Spurs that began their losing streak, so Guardiola and City will be eager to end it against the North London outfit upon the Premier League‘s return.
Over the duration of the first-half, we’ve examined each player’s individual performance, rating them on a scale of 1-10. Let’s take a look at how they fared.
Guglielmo Vicario: The Italian goalkeeper was tested a lot by City’s forward line in the opening forty-five, but he dealt with a lot of shots and crosses well. 8.
Pedro Porro: It was a heart-in-mouth moment for the Spaniard as his headed back-pass looped awkwardly for Vicario with Savinho pressing. Fortunately, the Spurs keeper dealt with it. Porro bombed forward on a number of occasions but failed to create much. 6.
Radu Dragusin: Dragusin wasn’t too impressive in the first-half but he wasn’t bad either. He did what was asked of him, which can’t be frowned upon by any means. 6.
Ben Davies: Davies makes his first domestic start of the season, and was reliable as always filling in that left centre-back role. 6.
Destiny Udogie: Spurs’ left-back found himself in advanced areas very often in the first forty-five, linking up with Son really well. 7.
Yves Bissouma: The Mali international fills in for Bentancur, who begins to serve his seven-match ban. He lost possession, fouled Foden, and picked up a booking after 13 seconds. Biss cleaned up his act after that, and oversaw a lot of Spurs’ midfield dominance in the first-half. 7.
Pape Sarr: Sarr reacted rapidly to the second ball, sweeping up effortlessly and acting as a general in the midfield. Another impressive display from the Senegalese. 8.
James Maddison: Maddison returned to the starting XI on his 28th birthday – it’s his first start in the PL since the 27th of October. He made an incredible run through the City defence before beautifully volleying home the opening goal, and minutes later he added a second with a delightful chip over the keeper. The birthday boy has undoubtedly justified his manager’s decision to start him so far! 10.
Dejan Kulusevski: Despite his instrumental performances in the midfield in recent weeks, Deki was moved wide to accommodate the return of Maddison, and it certainly paid off as it was his whipped cross that found Madders who volleyed home! The Swede was certainly in his element in the first-half, causing an abundance of problems for City’s backline. 9.
Dominic Solanke: When dropping deeper, Solanke was superb. But the Englishman will be hoping to make more of an impact in the attacking third in the second-half. 7.
Son Heung-Min: The Spurs captain nearly curled a beautiful shot into the top corner but it was met with an exceptional save from Ederson. Seconds later, he played the reverse ball to put Maddison through for his second. Son could’ve had a goal or two of his own if he just chose to pull the trigger sooner than he did, but it was still a solid display from him. 8.
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